Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Fatally Shooting Man during 2014 J’Ouvert Celebration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 27, 2017

 

Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Fatally Shooting
Man during 2014 J’Ouvert Celebration

Defendant Opened Fire into Crowd of People; will be Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison

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.

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.”

The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Derek Goodings, 28, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree manslaughter before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice, after jury selection had commenced. The judge indicated he will sentence the defendant on February 15, 2017 to 24 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.

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 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 defendant fled the scene and, while he was being chased by police, turned his gun on an officer, who discharged his service weapon.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Melissa Carvajal, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Taub, Bureau Chief.

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