POUGHKEEPSIE – A 46-year-old man was sentenced to 22 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision by Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin on Wednesday. At a pre-trial hearing in April, Jamal Alsayes opted to plead guilty to attempted murder rather than go to trial.
Alsayes was accused of trying to kill 66-year-old Tarek Hardanger, who remains hospitalized in a vegetative state as a result of the axe bludgeoning he received from Alsayes. The attack on Hardanger was exceptionally brutal with Alsayes attacking him repeatedly with an axe and then running him over with a car. After the initial attack, Alsayes called 911 to report the incident. Hardanger is on a ventilator in a facility outside of the country after spending 15 months at Westchester Medical Center. His skull, according to his wife Debra, is caved in, and he is never expected to recover.
Dutchess County Senior Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Richards prosecuted the case. She noted that the agreement to accept the guilty plea in April guaranteed that Alsayes would receive a maximum of 22 years in prison. The law allows for a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for attempted murder. “This was an extraordinarily violent crime,” she said while admitting that the defendant’s psychiatric condition played a role in the crime.
Judge McLoughlin and the court heard from the victim’s wife of 23 years who said that her husband had helped the defendant establish his own business because that his character. “He was a good friend and Muslim to everyone,” she said. Alsayes stood emotionless, listening to the statement through an Arabic interpreter. Calling Alsayes a “monster,” the victim’s wife told the court “I’m not sure this is the first time he’s done this – it’s just the first time he’s been caught.”
Both the victim and the defendant are of Middle-Eastern descent and a few people said that the attack was cultural in nature. Alsayes had previously stated that he tried to kill Hardanger because the victim had spoken to the defendant’s wife and daughter and that was considered to be “a shameful and disrespectful act,” in his country.
Alsayes was represented by Dutchess County Senior Assistant Public Defender Kevin Prue, who Judge McLoughlin commended for his vigorous defense of his client. Prue said the attack was “clearly a heinous crime” while referencing the psychiatric evaluations that confirmed Alsayes suffers from paranoia and delusions. Prue took issue with state law regarding the acceptance of mental health evaluations in criminal trials. “It is unfortunate that in New York State, the defendant can’t plead “guilty-mentally ill,” only “not guilty-mentally-ill.” Prue also put it on the record that the plea agreement prohibits the state from charging his client with murder in the event that victim succumbs to his injuries.
Judge McLoughlin gave Alsayes a chance to speak before handing down the sentence. Through his interpreter, the defendant, still showing no sign of emotion, simply said, “I’m very sorry for what happened.”
McLoughlin didn’t accept that attempt at remorse. “I don’t believe you,” he said to the defendant. “In essence, you killed this man. You are literally an axe murderer.” In addressing the difference in beliefs based on geography, McLoughlin said, “There is no culture that condones this – he brutally assaulted this man.”
Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin
