A Long Island carjacker with the unusual name Jason Butt-Champagne was busted a year after officials say he pummeled an amputee, stole his car and left him for dead.
Butt-Champagne, 25, was slapped with murder charges Tuesday after yanked 65-year-old Donald Klune from his parked 2009 Mitsubishi in Deer Park in December 2024 — then kicked him and left him injured on the ground without a way to call for help, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Klune, who only has one leg, was defenseless to fend off the Dec. 11, 2024 assault and couldn’t call for help after the Butt-Champagne allegedly stole the car with the victim’s phone still inside, prosecutors said.
A bystander found Klune in the road and called for help, but the Deer Park resident succumbed to blunt force injuries two days later at Sound Shore University Hospital.
Butt-Champagne, of West Babylon, was tracked down the day after the vicious assault when Suffolk County cops found the Mitsubishi in a commercial parking lot, the district attorney said.
As police moved in on the car, Butt-Champagne was walking nearby and hit by a different car, leading officers to find Klune’s car keys near the suspect, prosecutors said.
But the alleged killer carjacker wasn’t arrested until May 11 after an extensive probe.
“This defendant allegedly brutally attacked Donald Klune and left him for dead on the side of the road for nothing more than his car,” Suffolk DA Ray Tierney said in a statement.
“The Suffolk County Police Department never gave up in our pursuit of justice for Mr. Klune and his loved ones, and my office will continue to do so during this prosecution.”
He was arraigned on Thursday on second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and related charges.
Butt-Champagne’s lawyer, Andrew Karpf, said in a statement his client was not guilty, but declined further comment until he reviewed case paperwork.
Judge Karen Wilutis held the alleged brute in custody following the court hearing.
His next court date is June 24. He could face at least 25 years in prison if he’s found guilty of the top charge.
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