Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Nassau jury found a Hempstead man guilty yesterday in connection with a horrific assault against an Amityville man in a Freeport motel room in July 2012.
Robert Dixon, 50, of Hempstead, was found guilty on Thursday by a Nassau jury of Assault in the 1st Degree (a B violent felony), one of the top charges he faced, at the end of a trial before Nassau County Court Judge William Donnino. The jury acquitted Dixon of two counts of Robbery in the 1st Degree (a B violent felony) and one count of Robbery in the 2nd Degree (a C violent felony).
The jury found Dixon guilty after 90 minutes of deliberation at the end of a trial lasting nine days. Dixon faces a minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison. He is due back in court for sentencing on March 6.
“Not only did this defendant hold his victim in a headlock in order to allow his co-defendant to slash the man’s face and body, he then took a weapon to knock out his victim’s teeth,” Acting DA Singas said. “Prosecuting these types of violent crimes is a priority for my office as we seek to keep Nassau one of the safest big counties in the nation. I’m grateful to the jury for carefully weighing the evidence in this case, and for helping to ensure that this violent criminal will be off our streets for a long time.”
Acting DA Singas said on July 13, 2012 at 3:45 a.m., Dixon and his co-defendant, Wayne Speaks, 48, of Uniondale, assaulted an Amityville man after a dispute with a woman in a Freeport motel room. Dixon put the victim in a chokehold while Speaks slashed the victim, causing lacerations to his lip, leg, and forehead. Dixon then knocked out the victim’s front teeth with an object that appeared to be a gun. The victim was later transported by ambulance to South Nassau Community Hospital for treatment of his serious injuries, which left lasting scars.
Speaks pleaded guilty in November 2014 to assault, weapons, and robbery charges during a trial before Nassau County Court Judge Meryl Berkowitz. Speaks was sentenced on Jan. 9 by Judge Berkowitz to nine years in prison.
The woman, Wendi Seletsky, 31, of Hempstead, pleaded guilty in March 2013 to Assault in the 2nd Degree (a D felony).
Assistant District Attorneys Jesse Aviram and Kimberly Stevenson of Acting DA Singas’ County Court Trial Bureau are prosecuting the case. Dixon is represented by Joseph LoPiccolo, Esq.