By Ivan Pereira
A used cigarette butt was the key piece of evidence that helped to convict a Jamaica man last week who killed a Queens Village resident during a robbery, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
On Sept. 16, a jury found Troy Lockley, 34, of 91-50 191st St., guilty of several charges, including second-degree murder, burglary, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon in the August 2003 murder, the DA said.
Lockley was arrested in 2005 after investigators matched his DNA to DNA found on a cigarette he smoked at the time of the murder and abandoned on the victim's couch, according to Brown.
“The defendant thought he could get away with murder, but his own DNA proved his undoing,” he said in a statement. “He has now been held accountable for cold-bloodedly shooting a Queens man inside his own home.”
The incident took place outside the residence of Fabian Ceballos, 28, on Moline Street in Queens Village. Lockley and acquaintance Andy Dabydeen, 23, of 99-53 211th St., approached Ceballos and his girlfriend, asked for directions and then pulled a gun on them, according to the DA.
After demanding money from Ceballos, Lockley fatally shot him in the chest and proceeded to burglarize the house. He and Dabydeen stole a large amount of cash before fleeing, Brown said.
Dabydeen was arrested two months later and pleaded guilty to manslaughter two years later. He is currently awaiting sentencing, according to the DA.
In March 2005, investigators were able to find DNA from Lockley's cigarette and arrested him.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise set a sentencing date for Oct. 7, where Lockley faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
