Keyonna Waddell’s May 27 sentencing will follow convictions tied to a blast that maimed her boyfriend.
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Sentencing is the next step for a Suffolk County woman convicted after prosecutors said a domestic argument ended with an explosive device thrown into her boyfriend’s bedroom.
Keyonna Waddell, 35, of Deer Park, was found guilty April 24 of assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree. The charges stem from a March 22, 2024, blast that prosecutors said severed the victim’s hand and led doctors to amputate part of his arm. The verdict closed the trial phase but left punishment unresolved. Prosecutors said Waddell faces up to 25 years in prison when she returns to court May 27.
At sentencing, the court is expected to consider a record built around the apartment attack and the victim’s permanent injury. Prosecutors said Waddell and her boyfriend argued before the blast. The man told her to leave, and both people left the apartment. When he returned later, he did not see her there and went to sleep. The district attorney’s office said the victim then woke to a hissing sound and saw a flame on his bedroom floor. The burning object, prosecutors said, resembled a stick of dynamite.
During the moments that followed, the victim tried to stop the device from exploding inside the room. He attempted to put out the flame, but prosecutors said he was unsuccessful. He picked up the object and tried to throw it away. It detonated in his hand. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said the man felt searing pain and realized his hand was gone. After the explosion, the victim ran outside to the driveway and saw Waddell running away on foot, according to prosecutors. That account became part of the evidence that ended in her conviction.
Medical treatment after the blast became one of the strongest facts in the case. Prosecutors said hospital doctors amputated the rest of the victim’s mangled hand and part of his arm. The district attorney’s office did not release the victim’s name, his age or a detailed report on his condition after surgery. It also did not say whether he has ongoing medical procedures. The physical loss, however, is already part of the case’s public record. It is likely to remain central at sentencing because the assault count was tied to severe bodily injury.
Another factor that may shape the sentencing hearing is the history prosecutors said preceded the explosion. Investigators learned after the attack that Waddell had threatened the victim with dynamite several times in the months before the device was thrown into his room, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors did not publish exact dates for those alleged threats or say whether they were reported before the blast. Still, the office presented the threats as important context. Tierney said the case showed that domestic violence can escalate to deadly levels.
The court may also weigh the nature of the weapon. Prosecutors called it an explosive device and said it resembled dynamite. They did not publicly identify where it came from, how it was made or whether anyone else handled it before the attack. They also did not release information about blast damage to the apartment. Those unanswered points remain separate from the jury’s finding of guilt. The verdict means jurors accepted the prosecution’s proof that Waddell committed both the assault and the weapon possession offense charged in the case.
Waddell was arrested on March 23, 2024, one day after the explosion. The case then moved through the Suffolk County criminal court system for more than two years before trial. The April 24 verdict gave prosecutors the conviction they sought. It did not produce an immediate sentence, because punishment in felony cases is imposed in a separate proceeding. Before a sentence is announced, the court may receive arguments from prosecutors and the defense, review the conviction record and hear any statements permitted under court rules.
Tierney praised the Suffolk County Police Department and prosecutors after the verdict. “A dangerous individual has been held accountable,” he said. His statement described the attack as horrific and said Waddell would face a lengthy prison sentence. The district attorney’s office did not include a statement from the defense in its public announcement. It did not say whether Waddell remains jailed pending sentencing or whether post-verdict motions are planned. Those questions may be addressed in court filings or at the May 27 hearing.
The case has drawn attention beyond Suffolk County because of the unusual facts behind the conviction. Prosecutors described a victim asleep in his own apartment, a burning explosive on the bedroom floor and an injury that left him without a hand. Many details about the broader scene remain unknown, including whether neighbors heard the blast, whether police recovered other explosive material and whether the apartment sustained structural damage. The known record, though, places the explosion inside a domestic dispute that had already reached the point of alleged threats.
Punishment is the remaining question after the jury’s verdict. The judge will set any sentence within the legal range that applies to the convictions. Until the May 27 hearing, the case stands at a midpoint: guilt has been decided, prosecutors have stated the maximum exposure and the court has not yet issued the final sentence.
Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.