FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 24, 2017
Queens Man Sentenced to 76 Years to Life in Prison
For Shooting Two Brownsville Security Guards,
Killing One and Paralyzing the Other, after Invading Nearby Home
Victims Shot Outside of Housing Complex Where They Worked
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 22-year-old Queens man has been sentenced to 76 years to life in prison following his conviction earlier this month on charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder, burglary and other charges for shooting two security guards – killing one and paralyzing the other – outside of a housing complex in Brownsville, after invading a nearby home and threatening two other people earlier that morning.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The victims in this case were two innocent young men simply doing their jobs who got caught in the cross-hairs of gang-related violence. Gang members should be on notice that shootings like this will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Today’s lengthy sentence is well-deserved and necessary to protect the residents of Brooklyn.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Antonio Mahon, 22, of Queens, New York. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice ShawnDya Simpson today sentenced him to 76 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of second-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm and second-degree menacing following a jury trial.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on November 28, 2014, at approximately 8:45 a.m., near Rockaway Avenue and Livonia Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the defendant, a member of the Bloods street gang, was walking down the sidewalk and approached two on-duty security guards employed at the nearby Riverdale Towers housing complex, home to several of the defendant’s rival gang members. The defendant passed the guards, turned around and fired two shots at point-blank range, striking one guard in the head and the other in the back.
The guard who was shot in the head, 30-year-old Aaron Locklear, died five days later, on December 3, 2014 at Brookdale Hospital. The guard shot in the back was treated at Kings County Hospital and is partially paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting.
According to trial testimony, the shootings followed a home invasion and threats the defendant committed nearby earlier that morning. At approximately 2:30 a.m., the defendant chased a man associated with a rival gang into an apartment on Dumont Avenue. The defendant pointed a black and silver handgun at the man’s head and threatened to kill him. Then, shortly before the shootings, at approximately 8:30 a.m., at 330 Bristol Street, video surveillance recorded the defendant pointing a gun at another victim’s head.
A New York City Police Department investigation recovered two shell casings near the crime scene at Riverdale Towers, along with a loaded black and silver .40 caliber pistol in a garbage can less than a block away. Two shell casings were also recovered a block away from 330 Bristol Street. Ballistic analysis determined that all the recovered shell casings had been fired from the recovered pistol.
The defendant was arrested on January 9, 2015 inside a relative’s home in Queens. In a subsequent statement to NYPD detectives, he admitted to shooting two men with a black and silver handgun. He also was identified in a line-up by three witnesses.
The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Detective James Tillman of the 73rd Precinct Detective Squad.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick O’Connor, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Nicole Chavis, Bureau Chief.
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