Aug. 16, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A Ridgewood man has been convicted of attempted murder for shooting and robbing a pedestrian in Corona in June 2020.
Orlando Plummer, 47, was convicted by a judge at Queens Supreme Court Monday for shooting 44-year-old McAntoine Valery and robbing him of his backpack, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Plummer, of Fresh Pond Road, was found guilty after a two-week trial and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Valery had dated the mother of Plummer’s child several years prior to the incident – although it is unclear whether this was a motivating factor behind the attack.
“This defendant shot an innocent man following a violent robbery in broad daylight, leaving him clinging to life,” Queens District Attorney Katz said. “There is no place for such senseless and brutal acts in Queens County.”
According to the charges, Plummer and two accomplices approached Valery as he walked near the intersection of the Horace Harding Expressway and Calloway Street on June 14, 2020, at around 4 p.m. The trio had been following Valery for about 50 minutes before they confronted him.
Plummer and his associates accosted Valery and then began punching him repeatedly, prosecutors said.
Plummer, who was wearing a mask, then hit Valery in the head with a hard object before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the stomach. He then directed his associates to take Valery’s backpack before they all fled the scene on foot. It is unclear what was in the backpack.
Valery was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his abdomen and back, requiring surgery and 36 staples. He also suffered damage to his internal organs.
Prosecutors said they were able to nab Valery after they examined surveillance footage from earlier in the day that showed Plummer near the scene of the incident. The footage captured Plummer in the same clothes and without a mask.
Valery was convicted of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree
He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 6.