PRIOR VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MANSLAUGHTER IN FATAL 2023 NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOOTING

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Detrich Emanuel, 31, was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, after pleading guilty in August 2024 to Manslaughter in the First Degree, for fatally shooting Kristine Costantino, 40, of Middle Island, in her home on New Year’s Eve in 2023.

“Detrich Emanuel is a danger to the community in the truest sense of the word,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Already a convicted felon, he sought to settle an argument by pulling out a gun and ending the life of Kristine Costantino. It is important that the system recognizes the lasting impact violent crime has on our communities. I commend the outstanding work conducted by the Suffolk County Police Department investigators and the prosecution team for bringing this defendant to justice.”

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on December 31, 2023, at approximately 11:24 a.m., five individuals, including Emanuel, were at Costantino’s apartment in Middle Island. Emanuel and Costantino became engaged in a tense verbal exchange with each other.

Emanuel then pulled out a firearm, pointed it at the victim’s chest, and shot her. Emanuel called 911 to report the incident but then fled the scene before law enforcement arrived.

When police arrived to render aid, Costantino repeatedly said Emanuel’s name. Costantino was later pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital. On January 14, 2024, Emanuel was arrested in the Bronx.

In July 2018, prior to his arrest in this case, Emanuel was convicted in Queens County of Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree.

On August 20, 2024, Emanuel pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins.

On October 18, 2024, Justice Collins sentenced Emanuel to 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was represented by Matthew Tuohy, Esq.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective James Hughes of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.

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