East Harlem Attempted Murderer Sentenced—Despite Sex Tapes with Juror

On Thursday, Oct. 16, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the sentencing of Avery Dunning, 37, to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of a 41-year-old woman, who was his neighbor, after she and her husband confronted Dunning about allegedly committing acts of domestic violence against his girlfriend in East Harlem in February 2023.

On June 4, 2025, a New York Supreme Court jury found Dunning guilty on all counts, including Attempted Murder, Assault and Criminal Possession of a Weapon, among other charges.

On the surface, it was a slightly complicated but still commonplace case of domestic violence that spiraled into gunshots, and a 10-month NYPD manhunt.

It began on Feb. 22, 2023 when Dunning’s neighbor, Jemina Garay, called 911 to report Dunning for a domestic incident that she believed she overheard from across the hall of the apartment building, NYCHA (NYC Housing Authority) Lincoln Houses on East 135th Street.

Garay confronted Dunning and told him she would continue to call police every time she heard what she believed to be domestic abuse. The confrontation turned physical, and a fight ensued between Dunning, Garay, and Garay’s husband.

During the affray, Garay’s husband pushed Dunning into a stairwell. Then Dunning pulled out a firearm. The husband yelled, in substance, that Dunning had a gun, and he ran to safety. At approximately 8:25 a.m., as Garay tried to get into her apartment, Dunning fired the gun at her, wounding her multiple times in the head and body. Her husband returned to her and called 911.

Garay remained hospitalized in critical condition for months. She was eventually transferred to a rehabilitative facility, but her left side is paralyzed and she remains in need of constant medical care.

After the shooting, Dunning fled, wearing a red-and-black jacket. Later that evening, cops searched Dunning’s apartment where they found another firearm and compatible ammunition for both guns inside a safe.

Speaking to the New York Post, Garay’s husband said, “Nobody’s thinking about the fact that my children are going to see this. And they’re going to have to relive this over and over again.”

“Her name was J-E-M-I-N-A G-A-R-A-Y, and she was the f–king best,” he added of his wife. “That’s all I’m giving everybody.”

It was reported that Garay had at least six children, some of whom witnessed the shooting.

“She’s a very humble person,” said fellow Lincoln Houses resident Nicole Williams. “She don’t bother nobody. Everybody in the building takes their dogs to her. She grooms them. She does everything.”

Dunning was on the lam until December 2023. When caught, he provided the police with a fake name and fake ID.

After Dunning’s conviction this past June, it was revealed that he and female Juror No. 8 had made numerous sex videos together.

“These videos show Mr. Dunning receiving fellatio from a juror,” offered Dunning’s defense attorney Raymond Loving. “It’s clear that she had an intimate relationship with a man who she was later called for jury service.”

While Loving attempted to get Dunning’s conviction tossed, Assistant D.A. Andrea Kimmel blasted his effort, saying the lawyer “sandbagged this court. He withheld this information to only use it if the verdict wasn’t in his favor.”

Calling the situation “stranger than fiction,” Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Daniel Conviser agreed.