Eric Gonzalez
Acting District Attorney
Kings County
January 27, 2017
COMMUNITY PARTNER IN JUSTICE NOTIFICATION
Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Fatally Shooting
Man during 2014 J’Ouvert Celebration
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 28-year-old Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting a man during the J’Ouvert celebration held in advance of the 2014 West Indian Day Parade.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the defendant’s allocution, on September 1, 2014, at approximately 3:30 a.m., in the vicinity of Empire Boulevard, during the J’Ouvert celebration that precedes the annual West Indian Day Parade, the defendant, Derek Goodings, 28, of Crown Heights, fired a loaded weapon into a crowd of people. He fired five times, striking Michael Sampson, 55, in the chest, killing him, and injuring another man. He also fired at an unmarked police van, striking it.
The judge indicated he will sentence the defendant in February to 24 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant senselessly fired into a crowd of revelers, taking a man’s life and marring what should have been a night of celebration. The festivities surrounding J’Ouvert ought to be a joyful time for the community and we will aggressively prosecute anyone who shoots or harms people at this annual event or anywhere else in Brooklyn.”
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Read the full press release here.