A 40-year-old Jamaica man was found guilty last week of fatally shooting a Queens Village man inside his house during a robbery attempt in August 2003, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Troy Lockley was arrested close to two years after the crime, in March 2005, after DNA collected from a cigarette butt found in the victim’s apartment matched his profile
“The defendant thought he could get away with murder, but his own DNA proved his undoing,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “He has now been held accountable for the cold-blooded shooting of a man inside his own home. His actions warrant a lengthy prison sentence to punish him and protect society.”
Following a jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, Lockley was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree attempted robbery, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
According to trial testimony, Lockley and an acquaintance, Andy Dabydeen, 23, approached the home of Fabian Ceballos, 28, who lived at 89-18 Moline St. in Queens Village, and asked his female friend who was standing outside for directions before displaying a gun, Brown said. Lockley then ran to the doorway, where Ceballos was standing, and, grabbing him at gunpoint, demanded money. Lockley then shot Ceballos once in the chest, fatally wounding him. The defendant and Dabydeen proceeded to enter the victim’s apartment to search for more cash before fleeing.
Dabydeen was arrested in October 2003 and pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in September 2005. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Lockley was previously convicted in connection with this case in 2008, but the conviction was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered.
