Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said that a Queens man was sentenced to 22 years in prison for an incident that occurred at The Home Depot in Levittown in 2020, which left a victim with significant and irreparable injuries to one of the victim’s wrists.
On May 8, 2025, a jury convicted Joshua Mitchell, 29, of Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Serious Physical Injury (an E felony), Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a D felony), and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Second Degree (an unclassified misdemeanor).
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The defendant was sentenced today to 22 years in jail and five years of post-release supervision. The NCDA recommended a maximum sentence of 25 years in jail.
“Joshua Mitchell will spend decades in prison not only for theft, but for a violent act that left an employee of The Home Depot with permanent physical damage,” said DA Donnelly. “The victim was only trying to do the right thing, and everyday tasks are now anything but that because of this defendant’s reckless and criminal actions. The sentence handed down today reflects the serious harm this defendant caused, and the consequences of doubling down on a crime.”
According to DA Donnelly, on June 17, 2020, at around 11:30 a.m., Mitchell was observed by an asset protection officer (APO) at The Home Depot on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown, loading 91 expensive plumbing items into a 54-gallon bin in a shopping cart and leaving without paying.
The defendant’s cart contained a total quantity of products worth $3,321.29. When the APO neared the defendant in the foyer, he began pushing and shoving the cart towards him. The defendant then abandoned the cart and raced back through the store, exiting at a different location. He then got into a silver Hyundai Elantra with bogus Pennsylvania license plates and started driving away.
To stop the defendant, a man working at the store as a kitchen designer followed him out into the parking lot. The defendant drove his automobile toward the victim, hitting him and hurling him into the air, before driving out of the parking lot and onto the Hempstead Turnpike.
The sufferer was brought to St. Joseph’s Hospital and diagnosed with a fractured wrist. An orthopedist eventually discovered that the sufferer had a broken radius bone, a shattered scaphoid bone, and a torn ligament in his wrist. He also suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his shoulder.
In July 2020, the victim underwent surgery to put a plate and screws in his wrist. A second surgery was required in September 2020 to remove the plate, try to release the tendons, and remove scar tissue. The sufferer had to undergo a third surgery in December 2020 to remove bone spurs that were impeding wrist motion, but he was advised that he would not regain motion in his wrist, thumb, or finger grip strength.
Mitchell was detained on September 24, 2020, in his Laurelton, Queens, home.
Deputy Bureau Chief Alexander DePalo and Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau are prosecuting the case, which is overseen by Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and the Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division, Kevin Higgins. Alain Massena, Esq., represents the defendant.
