FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Brooklyn Woman Sentenced to 19 Years to Life in Prison for Fatally Shooting Father Trying to De-escalate a Confrontation
Defendant Fired into a Crowd Where Children Were Present
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn woman was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the 2016 shooting death of a father trying to calm an angry resident during an argument at the Farragut Houses in Downtown Brooklyn.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The defendant showed little regard for the safety of her neighbors or children who were out enjoying a warm summer day. This outrageous behavior not only claimed the life of a loving father, but left a gaping hole in a family and a community. The defendant has now been held responsible for this heinous crime.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Cheyenne Wright, 29, of Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn. She was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 19 years to life in prison following her conviction earlier this month of second-degree murder, first-degree reckless endangerment, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on June 15, 2016, at approximately 6:14 p.m., the defendant was involved in a fight with a group of women in front of 192 Sands Street of the Farragut Houses near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Sometime during the argument, the defendant left, returned with a gun, and began firing into the vicinity of a crowd of people where children played. The victim, Luis Villot, 29, approached the defendant and tried to calm her as she fired into the air. As the defendant turned to leave, she suddenly spun around, fired a third round, and shot Villot in the forehead.
Villot was declared brain dead, and died three days later at New York Methodist Hospital.
According to trial testimony, the defendant gave the weapon to her mother and fled, but surrendered on June 21, 2016.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Andres Palacio, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Bureau Chief.
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