FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Flatbush Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for
Shooting Innocent 13-year-old Boy in the Eye
Second Victim, Who was the Intended Target, Shot in the Leg
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 24-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to 24 years in prison for shooting a 13-year-old boy in the eye, in broad daylight, while attempting to gun down a rival. The intended target was struck in the leg.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The young victim of this senseless shooting, who bravely endured multiple surgeries and lost an eye, will suffer the consequences of it for the rest of his life. Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable and should serve as a warning that gun violence such as this will not be tolerated on the streets of Brooklyn.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Kareem Potomont, 24, of Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Shillingford to 24 years in prison following his conviction last month of first-degree assault, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a jury trial.
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 a 24-year-old man, 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.
#