A 42-year-old Flushing man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for gunning down Julian Askew outside a Jamaica bodega in 2022, capping a case that saw the killer flee to the United Kingdom before finally facing a jury four years later. Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant handed down a sentence to Damion Howell, who was convicted last month of second-degree murder and two counts of weapon possession.
The case began with a crude proposition inside a bodega at 106-32 Sutphin Boulevard at 1:11 a.m. on August 5, 2022, according to the Queens DA Katz
office. Howell approached Askew's girlfriend and propositioned her for sex, and when she told Askew what had happened, an argument broke out inside the store. As reported by
Shore News Network
, Howell then left the store, changed his clothes, and returned roughly 30 minutes later, shooting Askew in the torso near the corner of Waltham Street.
Askew's girlfriend called 911 after the shooting, but the wounds left Askew paralyzed from the waist down. He died from his injuries on November 14, 2022, more than three months after the attack. Howell fled the scene immediately after firing the shots and, eleven days after Askew's death, boarded a flight for the United Kingdom on November 25, 2022, according to the Office of the District Attorney Queens County.
Nine Months on the Run Before a JFK Arrest
Howell remained abroad for roughly six months before returning to the United States voluntarily in May 2023, when he was apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The gap between Askew's death and Howell's arrest — nearly nine months — reflects how long the flight overseas delayed prosecutors from bringing the case to trial.
Once Howell was back in custody, the case moved through the courts and reached trial on August 4, 2026. A Queens jury deliberated for only about two hours on August 11, 2026, before convicting Howell of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, according to the Office of the District Attorney Queens County. The case was prosecuted by Nicole Rella and Antonio Vittiglio, with supervision from Homicide Bureau Chief John Kosinski, Deputy Chiefs Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, and Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Clark.
A Mandatory Quarter-Century Before Parole
New York's sentencing statute for second-degree murder carries an indeterminate term with a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life, per Kontageorges Law. Justice Pandit-Durant imposed the 25-years-to-life sentence on Howell earlier this week.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement that Howell “brazenly shot a young man after propositioning the victim's girlfriend for sex.” She added that “when Julian Askew died three months later from his injuries, the defendant fled the country in a futile effort to evade justice. Howell was apprehended, tried and convicted for this senseless murder.” Katz said she hoped “today's sentence helps Askew's family and friends as they continue to mourn his loss.”
A Judge With a Busy Jamaica Homicide Docket
Justice Pandit-Durant has handled a string of major Jamaica violent crime cases in recent weeks. Just days before sentencing Howell, she handed down a 24-year sentence to a gunman for an execution outside a local funeral chapel, as Hoodline reported this month.
The Sutphin Boulevard commercial corridor near Jamaica Station, which falls under the NYPD's 103rd Precinct, has seen recurring late-night gun violence beyond this case. The 103rd Precinct serves the area.
City Targets Bodega Safety, DA Pursues Storefront Violence
In response to rising violent encounters at neighborhood markets, New York City announced a $1.6 million “SilentShield” initiative in May 2025 to install emergency panic buttons linked directly to local NYPD precincts in 500 bodegas across high-crime commercial corridors, according to 6sqft.
Katz's office has kept a sustained prosecutorial focus on bodega-related violence across the borough. Howell's 25-years-to-life term marks the conclusion of the case.
