A Jamaica man has been convicted of murder for fatally shooting an unarmed man in September 2008 following a physical dispute over which of them would assume control of a 14-year-old prostitute.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Brandon King, 26, of 116th Drive in Jamaica. He was convicted last Wednesday, May 8, of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a two-week jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak, who set sentencing for June 5.
King, who has been held without bail since his arraignment in September 2008, faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
“On the losing end of a fistfight, [King] walked away, only to return with a gun and kill his opponent,” Brown said in a statement. “This senseless shooting robbed a young man of his life and his children of a father. Such a vicious act of violence demonstrates that this defendant is a threat to society and deserving of a lengthy prison sentence.”
According to testimony at trial, King and Michael Stith, 28, of Jamaica became embroiled in a physical dispute during the early morning hours of Sept. 13, 2008, concerning control of a 14-year-old prostitute.
King, who became bloodied during one of several physical altercations with Stith, walked away but returned shortly thereafter with a handgun and proceeded to shoot the victim five times in the neck and torso, killing him.
Assistant District Attorney John W. Kosinski, chief of the District Attorney’s Vehicular Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad A. Leventhal, bureau chief, and Jack Warsawsky, deputy bureau chiefs, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
