POUGHKEEPSIE – Jamal Alsayes, the 46-year-old man who attempted to kill a man with an axe and then ran him over with a car in February of 2022, entered a guilty plea during a hearing in Dutchess County Court on Wednesday. The victim, 66-year-old Tarek Hardanger, remains hospitalized in a vegetative state as a result of the bludgeoning he received from Alsayes.
Senior Assistant Dutchess County District Attorney Lindsey Richards was prepared to take the case to trial. During Wednesday’s Huntley hearing before Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin, Alsayes opted to take the plea offer from The DA’s office. In exchange for pleading guilty to attempted murder, Alsayes will face no more than 22 years in prison along with five years of post-release supervision and an order of protection in favor of the victim. “The People hope the finality of this plea brings some amount of solace to the victim’s family,” Richards said.
The “Axe-Man” was represented by Dutchess County Senior Assistant Public Defender Kevin Prue, who noted that his client has “significant mental health issues” that were presented to the court and the DA’s office. “Mr. Alsayes made the decision to accept a sentence capped at 22 years with the promise that he will not be prosecuted for murder if and when the victim dies,” Prue said, pointing out that the murder sentence would be 25 years to life in prison for his client.
On February 18, 2022, Alsayes called 911 after attacking his victim, to report that he had just killed a man at the storage facility by running him over with his car. The attack occurred at the E-Z Storage on Route 9D at 8:45 a.m. As the dispatcher was trying to get information from him, Alsayes said he killed the man because he was trying to ruin his life and family. He advised the dispatcher that he had run over the victim and said “I killed him.” As the call continued, the defendant indicated that he also hit the victim with an axe. He told the dispatcher that the axe was now on the roof of the car and he would wait for the police to arrive.
During a preliminary hearing in Wappinger Justice Court in March 2022, Richards played a recording of the 911 call placed by Alsayes. The 12-minute recording includes the sounds of Alsayes continuing to try to kill the victim while on the phone with 911.
Sentencing for Alsayes is scheduled for June 7, 2023, before Judge McLoughlin.
