FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 3, 2017
Brooklyn Gang Member Convicted for Murder of Teenage Girl,
Causing Serious Injury to another Man in Separate Shootings
Defendant Apprehended Following Police Foot Chase, Admitted Role in Each Shooting
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 22-year-old man was convicted of murder, attempted assault and related charges for a revenge shooting spree – spanning two Brooklyn neighborhoods – that took a teenager’s life and seriously wounded another man. The defendant was apprehended following a police chase after he shot into a crowded Brownsville courtyard.
Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “This defendant perpetuated a cruel cycle of gang violence, striking down blameless bystanders who had unknowingly stumbled into the path of his rage. An innocent teenage girl is dead and a man was gravely wounded for no reason at all. The small comfort we can take is that today’s verdict ensures that this clearly dangerous individual will be removed from our streets.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Clayton Gravenhise, 22, of Brooklyn. He was convicted today of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram. The defendant will be sentenced on April 24, 2017 at which time he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
The Acting District Attorney said that, on July 13, 2014, at approximately 1:23 a.m., the defendant repeatedly shot Ubequeen Turner, 17, in the head, chest, back, buttocks and arm as she stood on the sidewalk in the vicinity of Quincy Street and Marcy Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to trial testimony. She died as a result of her injuries. The defendant later admitted that he shot the victim because she was related to a man the defendant believed killed his brother earlier that month.
Furthermore, on November 11, 2014 – the defendant’s brother’s birthday – at approximately 10:49 p.m., the defendant drove with others to Brownsville, Brooklyn with the intent of continuing his revenge plot. Upon approaching a crowded residential courtyard on Lott Avenue near Mother Gaston Boulevard, passengers exited the defendant’s car and opened fire into the crowd, according to trial testimony. A 32-year-old man was struck in the back and survived his injuries; the bullet still remains lodged in his body.
According to trial testimony, the defendant was apprehended fleeing the Brownsville courtyard shooting after engaging police officers, first in a vehicle pursuit and then on a foot chase, until he was caught.
The defendant, a member of the HoodStarz street gang, later admitted to his role in both shooting incidents and told investigators of his revenge motives.
The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Brooklyn North Homicide Squad, the 79th Precinct Squad and the 73rd Precinct Squad.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Bernarda Villalona, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Stephen Shuovsky, of the District Attorney’s Orange Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Timothy Gough, Homicide Bureau Chief.
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