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A West Babylon man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing a jogger while fleeing police in Wyandanch — then dumping a loaded gun in the woods before Suffolk Police detectives caught up with him 11 weeks later.
Jason Jean-Joseph, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, assault, leaving the scene, first-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer, and several other felony and misdemeanor counts. He is scheduled to return to Suffolk County criminal court for his sentencing on May 1.
Jean-Joseph was behind the wheel of a 2018 BMW 5 Series last June 13 — driving with a suspended license — when officers tried to pull him over just before 7:30 p.m. Instead of stopping, he hit the gas, Suffolk District Attorney explained.
Turning onto Wyandanch Avenue, he accelerated eastbound and plowed into Hillel Fuld, 29, of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.
Jean-Joseph kept going, Tierney said, leaving Fuld lying in the road, gravely injured. Fuld, originally from Teaneck, New Jersey, was rushed to Good Samaritan University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Jean-Joseph ditched the BMW in Babylon and bolted on foot, tossing a loaded 9mm pistol with a high-capacity magazine into a wooded area near John Street as he ran, authorities said.
Suffolk County Police arrested him Aug. 29.
“Fleeing from the police puts the lives of everyone in danger,” Tierney said. “This defendant’s dangerous and reckless choice killed a 29-year-old man simply out jogging.”
Fuld’s sister, Shaya Fuld, remembered her brother in a Facebook post as the family’s only redhead and its most natural source of joy — someone who could walk into any room and have people smiling without effort. She said his humor never came at anyone else’s expense.
“He was the kindest soul I’ve ever known,” she wrote, “not just in the easy moments, but in the small, quiet ways that mattered.”
Hulking rugby player, avid toy collector
Hillel Fuld, also known as Lewis, played organized rugby and was an avid toy collector and photographer. He shared his love for all three on his Instagram pages.
Blogger with same name as victim announced his own survival
The victim’s death briefly sparked widespread confusion online after at least one news outlet misidentified him as Hillel Fuld, a well-known tech blogger and public figure who shares the same name.
The blogger is actually the victim’s first cousin once removed. Hundreds of followers flooded his social media with condolences, believing he had been killed.
The blogger quickly took to Facebook to set the record straight, confirming he was alive and calling out outlets that had published pieces effectively eulogizing him without verifying basic facts.
“THIS IS NOT ME!! I am alive and well,” he wrote, describing the victim as a family member and calling his death “shocking and devastating.”
Top: Hillel Fuld, 29, of New York City was killed in the hit-and-run incident on June 13, 2025 (Instagram/@lewisfuld); Jason Jean-Joseph pleaded guilty Tuesday to a bevy of felony charges related to Fuld’s hit-and-run death (inset, courtesy of SCDA).
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