Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A third defendant headed toward trial in the 2023 shooting death of a beloved Staten Island deli owner appeared in court last week, as his father looked on from the gallery. Timothy Convery, 25, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, is facing charges that include second-degree murder and attempted robbery in connection with the July 8, 2023, slaying that unfolded inside Manor Deli and Convenience store in Castleton Corners. Convery was indicted on murder charges just over a year after the slaying. He was the third and final defendant charged. Also charged in the case are Hussein Adam, 23, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and Yaseen Bassuny, 23, of Klondike Avenue in New Springville. Prosecutors believe Adam and Convery entered the deli, while Bassuny acted as a getaway driver. Both Adam and Bassuny have ongoing cases in state Supreme Court, St. George, records show. ‘Love you’ On Friday, Convery appeared in court wearing a wooden cross necklace over orange, Rikers-issued scrubs. A tall man with an average build, he stood quietly with a slumped posture throughout the proceedings. During the proceedings, the sides discussed a prior misdemeanor conviction stemming from a 2023 incident in which Convery allegedly struck a friend in the head with a gun during a robbery attempt at the friend’s residence. The defendant’s father — dressed smartly in a buttoned-down flannel shirt, a side-part and square-framed glasses — attended the hearing alone. Convery looked back at his father as he was being led out of the courtroom. “See you, dad,” said Convery. His father, raising his head from his cell phone, replied: “See you Tim, love you.” Judge Mario F. Mattei adjourned the case to Nov. 19. Group targeted 2 delis, police said Prosecutors said the defendants traveled together in a maroon Jeep Cherokee to two different delis on the day in question, with Bassuny behind the wheel. The defendants, according to a source with knowledge of the case, were hanging out with friends at the Staten Island Mall and a local pool hall in the hours leading up to the robbery attempts. An attorney for Bassuny said previously his client was just looking for a ride home and was unaware of the co-defendants’ intentions that day. The trio, according to authorities, first tried their luck at the Caviar Mist smoke shop on Richmond Avenue in Bulls Head. But customers at that location were required to ring a doorbell to enter. A person inside the business, seeing the defendants standing outside in ski masks, refused to buzz them in, prosecutors alleged. So instead, they traveled to the Manor Road location. In both instances, they alleged, Bassuny parked nearby, waiting for the other suspects to return, prosecutors alleged. After Adam and Convery entered the Manor Road deli with a handgun, they headed toward the back, according to police. The victim, a co-owner of the location, went into a different room. A shot was fired through a door that struck him in the torso and proved fatal, police said. Victim was ‘stellar person’: Neighbors The victim, 35-year-old Bassam Khateeb, was a Staten Island resident. He was survived by his wife and two children. Neighbors of the deli were shocked by news of the fatal shooting. One person described Khateeb as a “stellar” person and “a hell of a guy.”
