Queens Village resident Hassan Dees was sentenced in Queens Supreme Court on Friday to 24 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his friend after the two men argued over an unpaid debt a day after Christmas in 2021.
Dees, 35, of 212th Street, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree for gunning down 31-year-old Peter Johnson of Jamaica.
According to the charges, on the night of Dec. 26, 2021, Johnson went to a deli at 207-22 Hollis Ave., where Dees worked to confront him over the debt. After a brief argument, Johnson said he would resume the conversation at Dees’ house following his shift at the deli and walked to the defendant’s house at 109-11 212th St.
Once Johnson departed the store, Dees retrieved a bag from the back of the shop, left the deli, and began walking towards his home. Minutes later, as Johnson approached the door of the defendant’s residence, Dees followed him closely behind, and at approximately 10:45 p.m., he shot the victim twice. Dees then ran back to the deli where he worked.
Just before 1 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, police from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village responded to a 911 call of a man shot in front of the home, where they found Johnson unconscious and unresponsive lying on the driveway with gunshot wounds to the head and arm. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Dees was arrested on Jan. 25 by members of the Regional Fugitive Task Force on Merrick Boulevard.
“An argument over money turned deadly when the defendant chose to settle it with a gun, taking the life of a young man,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “We will not relent in our efforts to get these illegal weapons off our streets.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced Dees to 24 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
