Kingston man gets to 2 to 6 years
Waheed sentenced for leaving scene of an accident in connection with 2016 death of Ashlee Crescione
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Khalil Waheed was sentenced to state prison on Thursday for leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it in connection to the September 2016 death of Ashlee Crescione.
In sentencing Waheed to 2-to-6 years, state Supreme Court Justice Richard Mott said he doubted the sincerity of Waheed’s remorse and said he thinks the Kingston man “dodged the bullet,” by not being convicted of both leaving the scene of an accident and criminally negligent homicide.
Leaving the scene was the more serious of the two felony charges against Waheed, 24 of Mountain View Avenue, Kingston. He was convicted in June of leaving
Crescione, 23, of Bruyn Avenue, lying injured on the pavement on Sept. 20, after she fell from his van following a drug deal gone bad. She died three days later at Albany Medical Center.
Waheed was arrested on Oct. 6.
He faced a minimum sentence of five years probation and a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 years to 7 years in prison.
Authorities said that on the day of the accident Crescione sold Waheed $20 worth of fake heroin. When Waheed realized the drug was fake, he confronted Crescione outside his van and the two began to tussle.
Waheed fled in his van when he saw two pedestrians walking toward him yelling and making hand gestures.
Authorities said Crescione chased and grabbed onto Waheed’s van because she had left her cell phone in the van, but fell off and struck her head on the ground.
In convicting him, the jury found that Waheed knew that Crescione had fallen from his van but failed to stop, leaving the scene instead.
In an emotional statement to the court, Crescione’s mother, Leah Crescione, spoke about the “unfathomable,” pain of siting vigil at her daughter’s bedside and watching as she gasped “for that last breath.”
And, she said, while she had “compassion,” for the struggle Waheed — like her daughter — had with heroin, Crescione said she had “no compassion or tolerance,” for his lack of remorse over her daughter’s death.
“Addiction is not an excuse,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney Joey Drillings urged Mott to sentence Waheed to the maximum sentence, saying it would make him understand that what he did was wrong and teach him about compassion and about the affect his actions have on other people.
Defense attorney Eric Naiburg though asked that his client get probation, saying his heroin addiction created “a perfect storm” that resulted in Crescione’s death.
He said had Waheed turned himself in when he first learned of the accident that injured Crescione, Waheed wouldn’t have been arrested, let alone convicted.
“Putting this man in jail is not going to solve the problem,” said Naiburg, urging Mott to instead require Waheed, as a condition of probation, to speak to high school and other groups about the dangers of drugs and addiction.
“It’s doing some service to the memory of that child,” Naiburg said, turning to the Crescione family seated in the courtroom.
In his own statement to the court, Waheed said he was “truly sorry,” for the impact his actions had and promised that he would “honor the loss of Ashlee by being of service to others plagued by this addiction.
Mott, however, was unmoved by Waheed’s comments, calling them “self serving,” and “empty words.” He said Waheed’s claims of remorse were “belied by the actions” he took when he discovered Crescione had died, searching the legal ramifications of his actions rather than turning himself into authorities.
“You were thinking about yourself, which you’ve been doing your whole life,” Mott said.
Handing down the sentence, Mott said he would recommend in the strongest terms possible that Waheed not be offered shock incarceration, saying Waheed’s sentence “is going to be tailored so you think about the havoc you wreaked on the Crescione family.”
Naiburg said Waheed would appeal the conviction.