Posted on: April 14, 2026 03:30 PM

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Hempstead man sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for 2019 fatal drive by shooting

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Hempstead man associated with the Bloods gang was sentenced today to up to life in prison in prison for a drive-by shooting in 2019 that took the life of a 36-year-old man.

Taiquan Cullum, a/k/a “Tay Tay,” 35, was convicted on June 26, 2025, after a jury trial before Judge Howard Sturim of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony).

The defendant was sentenced today to 35 years to life in prison. NCDA recommended a sentence of 40 years to life in prison.

“After surviving an attempt on his life, Taiquan Cullum chose a path of revenge, scouring his Hempstead neighborhood for the person responsible,” said DA Donnelly. “As a result of all this violence, Paul LaRue’s life was senselessly taken, and two men will serve decades of their lives behind bars. This defendant’s indiscriminate violence had heartbreaking consequences. We will keep Paul’s family in our thoughts and continue our work bringing violent criminals to justice who jeopardize the safety of our residents.”

DA Donnelly said that on July 28, 2019, at approximately 1:57 a.m., Cullum was at D’Ambiance bar in Baldwin and was shot at seven times by Jermaine Grant because of a perceived dispute between Cullum and acquaintances of Grant.

After the attempt on his life, Cullum went to Hempstead to retrieve a gun and picked up co-defendant Deion Barros to assist him in finding the individual who shot at him.

Cullum and Barros drove around Hempstead and came across Paul LaRue, a friend of Grant who was also at the bar during the attempted murder but not involved in the shooting. LaRue was sitting in his vehicle stopped at a red light at the intersection of Clinton Street and Fulton Avenue.

The defendants pulled alongside LaRue’s Mercedes Benz and opened fired three times, killing LaRue. Cullum and Barros then drove off.

Grant was subsequently arrested for the attempted murder of Cullum later that morning.

Grant was found guilty after a trial before Judge Helene Gugerty on October 27, 2022, of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony) and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). He was sentenced on December 2, 2022, to 20 years in prison.

Cullum was arrested at the Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County, New York, on August 22, 2023, by Nassau County Police Department homicide detectives.

The case against Barros, 29, is pending.

From DA