A Hempstead man associated with the Bloods gang was convicted of the murder of a 36-year-old man in a 2019 drive-by shooting, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced Friday.

Taiquan Cullum, 35, was found guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for killing Paul LaRue in an act of retaliation, Donnelly said in a news release.

Jermaine Grant, a friend of LaRue, allegedly shot at Cullum seven times at D’Ambiance bar in Baldwin on July 28, 2019, because of a perceived dispute between Cullum and Grant’s acquaintances. LaRue was also at the bar during the attempted murder but not involved in the shooting, according to the release.

Cullum then went to Hempstead to retrieve a gun and picked up co-defendant Deion Barros, 29, to find Grant. The two were driving around Hempstead when they saw LaRue in his vehicle at a red light at the intersection of Clinton Street and Fulton Avenue.

The two pulled up next to him and Barros allegedly opened fired about three times, killing LaRue.

"This was a cowardly act of retaliation that took the life of an innocent man who had no connection to the dispute between the defendant and a neighborhood rival," said Donnelly.

Grant was arrested the next morning, found guilty on Oct. 27, 2022 and sentenced to 20 years in prison on Dec. 2, 2022. The case against Barros is pending, according to the news release.

Nassau County Police Department homicide detectives arrested Cullum at the Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County on Aug. 22, 2023.

His trial began on June 9, and he is due back in court for sentencing on Aug. 25. Cullum faces a potential maximum of 40 years to life in prison, the news release said.

"It was a challenging case ... We did everything we could, and I know my client recognizes the jury’s verdict," said Gilbert Bayonne, Cullum’s defense attorney.