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On Wednesday, acting Westchester County District Attorney James McCarty announced that Juan Picart, 26, a Mount Vernon native, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury to four felonies, including attempted murder and assault.
Shortly after 4 p.m. on June 1 last year, Picart entered the deli on East 3rd Street and shot his victim six times in broad daylight with a .45 caliber handgun, before fleeing the scene. Picart shot his victim in front of multiple customers inside Top Deli Market and he was positively identified by multiple witnesses.
This wasn't Picart's first run-in with the law. He previously faced charges for attempted robbery and a weapons charge. At the time of the shooting, he was on parole for the criminal possession of a weapon charge.
According to McCarty, the Mount Vernon police launched an “intensive” three-week search for Picart, until a search warrant was executed at his sister’s house, where detectives obtained clothing that was worn by Picard during the shooting, as seen in surveillance video.
Picart was eventually tracked down by police, who tracked his cellphone to a friend’s house in Mount Vernon, where he was staying. When police searched the home, they found a .45 caliber handgun inside a toilet tank, which ballistics matched to the shooting. Picart’s DNA was matched that on the clothing at his sister’s house and there was gunshot residue on the eveidence.
In June, Picard was found guilty of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon - all violent felonies. He was also guilty of a felony charge of criminal possession of a firearm. He has been sentenced to 20 years and remanded into the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections.
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