Man convicted in 2004 retaliation murder

A former Queens resident has been convicted of murder for a 2004 triple shooting outside of I.S. 8 in Jamaica.
“In seeking retaliation for the shooting death of his brother, the defendant took the law into his own hands and dangerously fired his weapon outside of Intermediate School 8,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “He murdered one man and injured two others, including a passerby. We will seek the maximum penalty allowed under the law in response to this brazen shooting. Vigilantism will not be tolerated by this office.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Yusef N. Bey, 22, of 147-20 230th Street in Springfield Gardens.
Following four hours of deliberation, a jury of five men and seven women convicted Bey of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Aloise, who presided at the two-week trial, set sentencing for January 3, 2008, at which time Bey faces 25 years to life in prison.
According to the trial testimony, Bey and another man approached Anthony Houston, 40, outside of I.S. 8 on 167th Street, in the early evening of February 24, 2004.
Armed with a 357-caliber handgun, Bey fired several shots in retaliation for the murder of his brother, Shahada Bey, who was killed in September 2003.
Terrence Burt, 35, who was standing with Houston, was shot twice and died. Houston suffered a wound to his hip and was pistol whipped. Dermoth Cross, 27, who was walking on the street suffered a wound to his calf.
The District Attorney noted that Houston pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in March 2006 in connection with the death of Shahada Bey and was sentenced in May 2006 to 10 years in state prison.