On Monday, a judge on Long Island, New York, handed down a 25-to-life sentence to a man who a jury had convicted guilty of murder in November 2018 during a home invasion.
Ade N’Gaii, 39, was found guilty of murder in the home invasion death of Patchogue resident Kristopher Appel, 30.
The prosecution at trial presented evidence that N’Gaii was present at the scene of the crime on November 2, 2018 and that he and his accomplices planned and carried out a violent home invasion in order to steal money and marijuana from Appel’s residence.
On October 27, 2018, N’Gaii and his accomplices drove from the Bronx to Patchogue, which is nearly halfway between New York City and Montauk Point on Long Island, armed with a handgun to commit a home invasion, as stated in a press release issued by the office of District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
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N’Gaii and his men failed in their attempt because they lacked the means to actually enter the house.
Instead of giving up, the intruders planned a second, fatal home invasion for November 2, 2018.
N’Gaii and his three associates drove with a handgun that day from the Bronx to Patchogue.
They pretended to be construction workers by donning hard hats and reflective vests.
N’Gaii and an accomplice broke into Appels’s house, confronted him, and ultimately killed him with blows to the head and stab wounds.
Members of the Suffolk County Police Department found Appel’s body in the front vestibule of his home that day.
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According to the press release, N’Gaii was proven to have been present near the scene of the crime based on testimony from witnesses and text messages he exchanged with an accomplice. Along with that, authorities uncovered a fluorescent vest with N’Gaii’s DNA at Appel’s residence.
On February 24, 2023, a jury found N’Gaii guilty of second-degree murder following his arrest on June 24, 2021.
On Monday, the Honorable Anthony S. Senft, Jr. handed down a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
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“When the initial attempt to get into the victim’s house failed, the defendant might have given up and gone about his day. But he continued to press his advantage.
His greed drove him to murder for personal gain “prosecutor Tierney remarked. “He’ll be spending a long period behind bars because of that decision.”
