FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
for Shooting at Uber Eats Driver
Defendant Fired Approximately Four Shots at Stranger in Random Drive-By Shooting
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following his guilty plea to second-degree attempted murder for opening fire at an Uber Eats driver during a random drive-by shooting in 2021. The Defendant fired multiple shots at the victim, a stranger, as he sat in his car between deliveries.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant’s decision to open fire on an innocent driver was a shocking act of violence that put a stranger’s life at risk and terrorized a peaceful neighborhood. Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to confronting gun violence with accountability. My office will continue to pursue justice for those who recklessly endanger public safety and ensure that everyone in Brooklyn can feel safe in their community.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Laquan Battle, 28, of New Lots, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully to 10 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder on September 25, 2024.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on December 5, 2021, at approximately 11:45 p.m., in front of 1228 Pacific Street, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the victim, 22, was sitting in his 2004 Toyota Sienna when the defendant drove by in a red Kia. The defendant stopped slightly ahead of the victim’s vehicle and cursed at him. The defendant then stuck a 9-millimeter handgun out of the window and, according to the evidence, fired approximately four times at the victim before driving away.
One of the bullets struck the victim’s car. A second bullet struck an adjacent parked car. The victim was not injured.
Detectives from the 77th precinct were able to identify the Kia’s license plate from video surveillance and placed a felony alarm on the vehicle. Following a continued investigation, the defendant was identified as the shooter.
The defendant was apprehended in Jonesboro, Georgia, in May 2022, and returned to New York.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Quon and Senior Assistant District Attorney Paola Orta Cordova, of the District Attorney’s Orange Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Trabulsi, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Danielle Eaddy, Bureau Chief.
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