FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Brooklyn Man Convicted of Killing 79-Year-Old Bystander
Outside Bedford-Stuyvesant Barbershop
Fired Gun at Two Rivals and Struck Innocent Man
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 22-year-old Brooklyn man has been convicted of second-degree murder for a 2011 shooting that left an innocent bystander, age 79, dead of a gunshot wound to the neck.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This is another tragic example of the devastation gang violence wreaks in our communities. An innocent elderly man who did nothing wrong is dead because this defendant showed utter disregard for human life. We will now move to put this defendant away for a long time.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Breeze King, 22, of 465 Lexington Avenue in Bedford-Stuvesant, Brooklyn. He was convicted today of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Guy Mangano. The defendant will be sentenced on February 26, 2016 at which time he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on September 28, 2011, the defendant, who is a gang member, encountered two rivals on the street and opened fire on them. One of the targets ran into a barbershop at 358 Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Andrew Burke, 79, who was standing in front of the barbershop, was struck in the neck and died from the gunshot wound.
A witness who came forward about a year after the incident identified the defendant as the shooter, according to the investigation. Another witness testified that the defendant admitted his role to him when they were both jailed in Rikers Island.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Leila Rosini and Adam Uris of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Nicole Chavis, Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division.
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