Dennis Ray found guilty of murder in beating death of Jose Osma behind Chuck E. Cheese in 2022

A jury found a Roosevelt man guilty of murder after he robbed a man behind a Chuck E. Cheese in Hempstead and beat him so severely he died of his injuries, Nassau officials said.

Dennis Ray, 64, was found guilty on all charges related to the 2022 robbery and beating death of Jose Osma, 59, of Copiague, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release on Thursday. Following a trial that lasted eight days, the jury deliberated for four-and-a-half hours before finding Ray, also known as "Midnight," guilty, Donnelly said.

The deadly assault occurred about 11 p.m. on April 22, 2022, behind the entertainment and dining establishment on Fulton Avenue, according to Donnelly. Ray and his co-conspirator, Tyrell Guthrie, beat Osma and left him without any identification. A passerby found him about 6:30 a.m. the next day, at which point he was transported to a hospital as a John Doe "in an unconscious state with numerous skull and orbital fractures," Donnelly said. After filing a missing person’s report with the Suffolk County Police Department, his family reunited with him two days after the attack at NYU Langone Hospital — Long Island in Mineola.

Ray beat Osma "within an inch of his life," leaving him slipping "in and out of a coma" Donnelly said in the statement. Until he succumbed to his injuries on April 30, 2023, Osma endured "an endless cycle of brain surgeries, paralysis, rehab and hospitalizations."

"Dennis Ray showed no remorse for his violent assault, even bragging minutes after the attack about the stolen money and the heinous crime he committed to get it," Donnelly said. "For days after the attack, Jose’s family did not know where he was or what had happened to him, and for a year after that, they were heartbreakingly forced to witness his tragic decline. I hope that this conviction brings them a measure of justice, and I thank the jury for their decision to convict this defendant."

Nassau police arrested Guthrie near the scene of the attack with Osma's blood not only on his clothing, but on a jacket he was holding that Ray sported the evening of the assault, Donnelly said. Police arrested Ray on May 7, 2022.

Guthrie pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Nov. 9, 2023, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Jan. 29, 2024, Donnelly said.

On Tuesday, a jury convicted Ray of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and second-degree robbery, Donnelly said. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 12 and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

The defense attorney representing Ray did not immediately respond to Newsday’s request for comment on Thursday evening.