{"id":187713,"date":"2026-04-06T22:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187713\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T22:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:27:10","slug":"murder-defendant-in-botched-robbery-at-staten-island-deli-takes-witness-stand-denies-pulling-trigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187713\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder defendant in botched robbery at Staten Island deli takes witness stand, denies pulling trigger"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Hussein Adam is full of regret. At least, that\u2019s what he expressed numerous times on the witness stand Monday while testifying in his ongoing murder trial.<\/p>\n

He regrets entering a Staten Island deli armed with a gun, and he regrets convincing his best friend to make the trip with him to New York. But in terms of murder, he said he\u2019s not the guy. <\/p>\n

Adam, 25, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, is facing charges that include first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the 2023 incident that resulted in the death of 35-year-old Bassam \u201cSam\u201d Khateeb<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said it was around 8:15 p.m. when Khateeb, a co-owner of Manor Deli and Convenience in Castleton Corners, was found lying dead in a back room of the store, with a gunshot wound to the torso.<\/p>\n

During the prosecution\u2019s cross-examination of Adam in front of a packed courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Baver suggested he pulled the trigger during the robbery attempt. But Adam rejected that claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did not come from my gun,\u201d said Adam. <\/p>\n

\"VideoHussein Adam testified Monday that he and co-defendant Timothy Convery entered Manor Deli and Convenience armed with the intention of robbing the store for black market cannabis. Adam is pictured in the white shirt. <\/p>\n

Surveillance footage from inside the deli showed Adam and a co-defendant, Timothy Convery, 26, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania<\/a>, trying to push through a door into a back room where the victim had barricaded himself. According to trial testimony, the defendants were looking to steal black market cannabis which police would later find hidden in the store. <\/p>\n

The defense has argued that both men appeared armed in the video; that it could have been Convery\u2019s gun that went off, and that Adam gave a false confession to police. <\/p>\n

When Adam was asked about an interrogation video following his September 2023 arrest in which he confesses to the shooting, he said he only did so to protect Convery, and to end the questioning by detectives. <\/p>\n

When asked by defense attorney Peter Laumann about his relationship with Convery, he said he is like a \u201cbrother\u201d and a \u201cbest friend.\u201d Adam said he felt responsible for inviting Convery, who went by \u201cT.C.,\u201d to join him for the robbery attempt in New York.<\/p>\n

\"HusseinThe prosecution and defense conference with Justice Mario F. Mattei during the ongoing murder trial for Hussein Adam in state Supreme Court, St. George.(Steve White for the Advance\/SILive.com)<\/p>\n

Adam stated he had to \u201ctake responsibility\u201d for the incident, but said he was not the shooter. <\/p>\n

Originally from Brooklyn, Adam moved to Pennsylvania as a child. He also spent a year in Egypt. At the time of the 2023 incident, he had a friend living on Staten Island who he had kept in touch with. The friend acted as a getaway driver in the robbery. <\/p>\n

Who\u2019s telling the truth?<\/p>\n

Adam, who is charged with first-degree murder, testified Monday that it was actually a third co-defendant, a cooperating witness for the People, who planned out a robbery attempt that day. <\/p>\n

He said that days prior to the robbery, the cooperating witness \u2014 a childhood friend he reconnected with on social media as a teenager \u2014 traveled to Pennsylvania to hang out, drink and smoke.<\/p>\n

During the meet-up, Adam told the cooperating witness he was having a hard time caring for his newborn child and paying rent. So the cooperating witness told Adam he had a friend in a smoke shop that could stage a robbery for them, according to Adam\u2019s testimony. <\/p>\n

The cooperating witness, meanwhile, told a different story on the witness stand. The 24-year-old Staten Island man previously testified that he was merely a getaway driver who was coaxed into participating. <\/p>\n

As part of a plea agreement with the district attorney\u2019s office, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a seven-year prison sentence. That sentence is contingent on his testifying truthfully and avoiding further run-ins with law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The Advance\/SILive.com in some cases withholds the identity of protected witnesses. <\/p>\n

\"MaroonAccording to trial testimony, the defendants used a maroon Jeep belonging to the mother of Adam’s girlfriend as a getaway vehicle in the robbery. Staged robbery attempt preceded fatal encounter: Defense<\/p>\n

Adam said he received a call from the witness on the day of the incident telling him to come to Staten Island. On the way, he stopped to pick up Convery \u2014 but not before taking ecstasy and smoking weed.<\/p>\n

Hours prior to the robbery, Adam, Convery, the witness and some of the witness\u2019s friends hung out at the Staten Island Mall, smoked weed in a nearby parking lot and then played pool in New Dorp. <\/p>\n

Then, the witness, Convery and Adam left together and went to the witness\u2019 home, where he retrieved masks and hoodies for the robbery attempt, according to Adam.<\/p>\n

They first targeted a store on Richmond Avenue, where Adam said the witness claimed to know someone who worked there. But Adam said he was never told the name of the employee. <\/p>\n

In cross examination, Baver questioned why Adam was willing to carry out the robbery with such limited information. <\/p>\n

When Adam and Convery got to the entrance, they hit a buzzer but were denied entrance. So they returned to the Jeep that Adam had driven up from Pennsylvania, and the witness was now driving. <\/p>\n

Adam explained that while Convery had brought guns, they were intended to be used as \u201cprops.\u201d He insisted that his firearm magazine was unloaded, but said he was unsure if a bullet remained in the chamber. He said he also believed Convery\u2019s gun was unloaded.<\/p>\n

According to Adam\u2019s testimony, he told the witness at that point that he was calling it quits, but it was the witness who decided to press on. <\/p>\n

Robbery attempt proved fatal for beloved deli owner: D.A. <\/p>\n

According to Adam, the witness explained he knew of other smoke shops that could be targeted, and that they agreed on Manor Deli and Convenience. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could turn the clock back, I would,\u201d said Adam, who repeatedly glanced up at the ceiling throughout his testimony, his hands folded neatly in front of him. <\/p>\n

He admitted it was himself and Convery in the video surveillance footage inside the deli. The footage showed two masked men enter the deli and make a beeline for a back room of the deli, where Adam said the witness told him they would find black market cannabis. <\/p>\n

\"PoliceIn this July 8, 2023 photo, police respond to a report of a man shot inside Manor Deli and Convenience, located at 444 Manor Road in Castleton Corners. <\/p>\n

The partially opened door was shut as the men approached. The video shows Adam, with gun in hand, kick the door. The man identified as Convery is seen standing behind Adam with his arms raised in what could be described as a firing stance, over Adam\u2019s left shoulder.<\/p>\n

Adam said it was at that point he heard a gunshot, which startled him and sent both men sprinting toward the exit.<\/p>\n

Police who later responded to the deli found Khateeb lying in the backroom with a single gunshot wound that proved fatal. <\/p>\n

In arguing it was Adam who pulled the trigger, Baver zeroed in on the direction Adam was pointing his firearm while trying to kick in the door. Adam claimed his finger never touched the trigger.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know is I\u2019m here to tell the truth today,\u201d Adam said. <\/p>\n

\"BassamThe community mourned the death of Bassam Khateeb, 35, a co-owner of Manor Deli and Convenience, who was shot to death during what police described as a botched robbery attempt in July 2023. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors then questioned why Adam would admit to shooting Khateeb in a letter to his child\u2019s mother, while he was on suicide watch on Rikers Island. <\/p>\n

Adam said he figured that his girlfriend would convey his confession to Convery. <\/p>\n

And they asked why Adam did not turn himself in prior to his September arrest.<\/p>\n

To which Adam claimed he was unaware someone had died until police caught up with him several weeks later. He said he was busy caring for his family. <\/p>\n

Adam said that despite being nervous during his arrest, he had no intention to flee or resist authorities, and that he shielded Convery\u2019s identity from police immediately following his arrest, hoping he would be the only one to take the fall. <\/p>\n

The trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday in state Supreme Court, St. George. The sides will deliver closing arguments, followed by Justice Mario F. Mattei\u2019s final instructions for the jury before they begin deliberating. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Hussein Adam is full of regret. At least, that\u2019s what he expressed numerous times…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-187713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}