Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced the conviction of a Hempstead man on all counts before the jury in a violent post-Superstorm-Sandy home invasion in which a 50-year-old East Garden City woman was brutally raped and almost killed.
After about three hours of jury deliberations, Artie Jackson, 46, was found guilty on all 18 counts considered by a Nassau County jury for the November 2012 attack:
Three counts of Predatory Sexual Assault (an AII Violent felony)
Rape in the 1st Degree (a B Violent felony)
Two counts of Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree (a B Violent felony)
Three counts of Robbery in the 1st Degree (a B Violent felony)
Six counts of Burglary in the 1st Degree (a B Violent felony)
Two counts of Strangulation in the 1st Degree (a C Violent felony)
Sexual Abuse in the 1st Degree (a D Violent felony)
The trial before Judge Angelo Delligatti lasted approximately a month. Jackson is due back in court on Nov. 12 and faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
“It is every woman’s worst nightmare: To be home asleep, awakened by an intruder armed with a knife, and being forced to fight for your life,” DA Rice said. “In the end, this defendant failed to silence his victim, who testified in court against him, and helped convince a jury that he was indeed guilty of these brutal crimes.”
DA Rice said that at approximately 9:13 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2012, Jackson broke into an East Garden City home while a 50-year-old woman living there slept. After wandering around the home eating food from the house and rummaging through belongings, then attempting to disable the house alarm, Jackson entered his victim’s bedroom with a knife. A violent struggle ensued in which Jackson broke his victim’s nose and eye socket, and strangled her with a zip tie until it sliced her neck.
Jackson raped the woman, who became unconscious during the attack, and dragged her down the stairs to the first floor, leaving her crumpled and bleeding on the floor. While Jackson continued to gather valuables including electronics and jewelry, the victim played dead. When Jackson went back to the second floor to disable another component of the house alarm, his victim escaped to a neighbor’s property, where police were called and rescued her.
Jackson faces charges in two other home invasions and two other burglaries in Nassau County. Those cases are pending.
Assistant District Attorneys D.J. Rosenbaum and Rachel Grinspan are prosecuting the case. Jackson is represented by Dana Grossblatt, Esq.