FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 40 Years to Life
in Prison for Fatally Shooting a Man outside Red Hook Houses
27-Year-Old-Victim Was Expecting Birth of First Child;
Died Three Weeks Later from Gunshot Wound to Head
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison following his conviction for shooting a man outside the Red Hook Houses in 2020. The victim died three weeks later from a gunshot wound to the head.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The life of Elvin Fernandez, a young man expecting the birth of his first child, was cruelly and senselessly cut short when the defendant shot and killed him in cold blood. My heart goes out to Mr. Fernandez’s family and friends, who hopefully find a measure of solace with today’s lengthy sentence.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as David Gorham, 32, of Red Hook, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Raymond L. Rodriguez to 40 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on December 6, 2023, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on June 1, 2020, at approximately 5:50 p.m., outside the Red Hook Houses at 484 Columbia Street, the defendant saw Elvin Fernandez, 27, ride past in the backseat of a car. The defendant then proceeded to wait inside a nearby candy store while the victim and the victim’s pregnant girlfriend exited the vehicle. The defendant walked over, reached into a bag and pulled out a handgun. He fired once, striking the victim in the head. The defendant then went into a nearby building, changed his clothing, and fled the area. Police arrested him on June 18, 2020.
The victim was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Brooklyn Methodist where he remained in critical condition before dying of his wounds on June 24, 2020.
Investigators later determined that a friend of the defendant had been feuding with the victim’s girlfriend.
The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegal Amanda Connolly for her assistance on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Toder, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Michael McGee Jr., of the District Attorney’s Blue Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.
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