FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 14, 2024
Defendant Convicted of Murdering Young Father in Fort Greene
And Shooting Another Individual Sentenced To 28 Years to Life in Prison
Defendant was Convicted of Shooting Two Victims Following Jury Trial
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 28 years to life in prison following his conviction on one count of murder and one count of assault for shooting two young men at the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene following a petty dispute.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a violent and inexplicable shooting of two strangers by this defendant who, after a minor verbal dispute, retrieved a gun and lay in wait for his victims. I hope that today’s sentence brings some closure to the friends and family of Jo’heem Hamilton, a young father, and to the surviving gunshot victim.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Earl Morgan, 54, of Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today to 28 years to life in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Laura Johnson. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree assault on April 26, 2024, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on May 30, 2020, just after 2:00 a.m., in the vicinity of 24 Monument Walk, Jo’heem Hamilton, 25, and another man, age 36, were walking to a store to get some food when they encountered the defendant hanging out in and around the lobby. As the victims walked by, according to the evidence, the defendant approached them and engaged in a brief verbal altercation.
When the victims walked away, the defendant left the area and retrieved a loaded firearm, according to the evidence, and then returned and waited in a stairwell near the entrance of the lobby for the victims. When they returned, and their backs were turned, he fired multiple shots at point-blank range. He then put the gun in his waistband and walked away, according to the evidence.
Jo’heem Hamilton, who was father to an infant daughter, was shot in the back and died of his injuries. The second victim was also shot in the back and suffered serious injuries.
The defendant was arrested on June 16, 2020.
The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegal Angelika Rostkowska and Chief Analyst Alexandra Aber of the Digital Evidence Lab for their assistance on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph Bianco, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Amelia DiGirolamo, of the District Attorney’s Red Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.
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