Taiquan “Tay Tay” Cullum, 35, will spend 35 years to life in prison for a 2019 drive-by shooting that killed 36-year-old Paul LaRue as LaRue sat at a red light in Hempstead. A jury convicted Cullum in June 2025, in a case prosecutors say traces back to an earlier shooting outside a Baldwin nightclub.
According to prosecutors, the violence started in the early hours of July 28, 2019, when Jermaine Grant opened fire on Cullum outside D’Ambiance in Baldwin, missing his target. After that, they say, Cullum retrieved a gun and picked up co-defendant Deion Barros. The two allegedly cruised Hempstead streets until they pulled alongside a Mercedes Benz stopped at the intersection of Clinton Street and Fulton Avenue. Prosecutors say Barros fired three shots into the car, killing LaRue, who had no connection to the Baldwin dispute, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.
A judge handed down the 35-to-life sentence on Thursday. Prosecutors quoted District Attorney Anne Donnelly as saying Cullum’s “indiscriminate violence had heartbreaking consequences.” Cullum had been arrested on Aug. 22, 2023, while he was incarcerated at Otisville Correctional Facility, then brought back to Nassau County to face the murder charge, as reported by News 12.
How prosecutors say the case unfolded
Prosecutors say the chain of events began with a confrontation at D’Ambiance that spilled into the street just before 2 a.m. on July 28, 2019, and escalated when Grant fired at Cullum. Grant was later tried for that Baldwin shooting and, in October 2022, was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and weapons charges. He was sentenced in December 2022 to 20 years in prison. According to prosecutors, Cullum’s actions later that same morning are what led to the deadly roadside shooting in Hempstead.
Legal fallout and pending cases
Cullum was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon, charges that carry lengthy prison terms. Prosecutors had previously said he faced a potential maximum sentence of 40 years to life. The case against Barros remains pending in Nassau County court, and local coverage has noted that the investigation unfolded over four years before Cullum’s 2023 arrest and 2025 trial, according to Patch.
Community impact
LaRue’s killing left his family without a father and became a stark example, prosecutors and local coverage noted, of how a nightlife dispute can spiral into lethal retaliation. While the sentence delivers a measure of legal accountability, prosecutors and community groups continue to call for anti-violence efforts aimed at stopping similar retaliatory shootings in and around Hempstead, as reported by News 12.
