MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced the sentencing today of a Queens man in the 2011 poisoning of a child in a vehicle parked in Lawrence.
Khemchan Sulaiman, 48, of Jamaica, was sentenced by Nassau County Court Judge Christopher Quinn to 16 years in prison. In March 2014, Sulaiman pleaded guilty to the entire Grand Jury indictment against him. The charges in the indictment are Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree (a B felony), Assault in the 1st Degree (a B felony), two counts of Assault in the 2nd Degree (a D felony), two counts of Aggravated Criminal Contempt (a D felony), two counts of Criminal Contempt in the 1st Degree (an E felony), and Endangering the Welfare of a Child (an A misdemeanor).
“The crimes in this case are shocking – especially given that the victim was a young child that was completely unable to protect itself,” DA Rice said. “This sentence ensures that this defendant will be in prison for a long time, where he will no longer be a danger to innocents.”
DA Rice said that on Oct. 3, 2011, Sulaiman and a small child were found by passersby to be unconscious inside a parked vehicle in Lawrence. Members of the Nassau County Police Department responded to the scene, finding Sulaiman and the child in respiratory distress. Sulaiman and the child were transported in critical condition to a local hospital for treatment. The child later recovered.
An investigation by police revealed that the toddler’s bottle recovered from the vehicle contained ammonium chloride, a toxic chemical commonly found in fire extinguishers. A pesticide known as “Sevin” was also found on a car seat. Police arrested Sulaiman the following day.
Assistant District Attorney Amanda Burke of DA Rice’s Special Victims Bureau is prosecuting the case. Sulaiman is represented by Kenneth St. Bernard, Esq.
###