FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 4, 2017
Flatbush Man Convicted of Assault for Shooting
Innocent 13-year Old in the Eye
Second Victim, Who was the Intended Target, Shot in the Leg;
Defendant Faces up to 40 Years in Prison
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been convicted of assault for shooting a 13-year-old boy in the eye while attempting to gun down a rival. The intended target, a 24-year-old man, was struck in the leg.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant, who opened fire on a busy street in broad daylight, forever changed the life of an innocent boy who lost an eye. It’s truly a miracle that he survived. The defendant will now spend many years in prison to pay for his abhorrent actions.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Kareem Potomont, 24, of Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was convicted today of one count of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree attempted assault, one count of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Shillingford. Sentencing was scheduled for September 22, 2017 at which time the defendant faces up to 40 years in prison.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on April 14, 2014, at approximately 11:55 a.m., in the vicinity of Flatbush Avenue and Beverley Road, the defendant opened fire on the 24-year-old, striking him in the leg. The 13-year-old, who was waiting for a bus with his aunt and cousin, was struck in the right eye by a stray bullet.
The defendant was captured on videotape shooting the firearm and then fleeing the scene.
He was arrested three days later after being located in the basement of a house in Jamaica, Queens.
The older victim was treated for his gunshot to the leg and released. The child lost his vision in his right eye and eventually had the eye removed. He underwent multiple surgeries.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Yaniris Urraca, of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Nicole Chavis, Chief of VCE, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Joseph Alexis, Chief of Trials and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Mark Feldman, Senior Executive for Crime Strategies and Investigations.
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