By Bianca Fortis
Nearly two years after a 21-year-old Rockaway Beach man was violently gunned down, a suspect was convicted of the killing, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced last Thursday.
After a three-week trial in Queens Supreme Court, a jury convicted Anthony Jordan, of the New Haven Plaza housing complex, at Beach 14th Street, of killing Sean Mack.
Jordan was convicted of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon Thursday.
According to trial testimony, Sean Mack and individuals from his housing complex had been involved in a physical fight at a Brooklyn nightclub with people from another housing complex in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2011, Brown said.
Mack had suffered a lip injury in the altercation, according to Brown. Later that Sunday morning, Mack and his friend were walking to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway so Mack could seek treatment for the injury.
As they walked, they crossed paths with Jordan, now 26, who had also been involved in the fight a few hours prior. At about 5:45 a.m., Jordan pulled out a loaded handgun and chased Mack down the street, Brown said. As Mack ran, Jordan fired a shot, striking Mack and causing him to fall. As Mack lay on the sidewalk, Jordan ran up to him and fired a second shot, the DA said.
The bullet struck Mack in the left arm and first perforated his lung and aorta before exiting through his right side, according to Brown. Mack was found on Gateway Boulevard between New Haven and Brookhaven avenues, a few hundred feet from the hospital, with a gunshot wound to his lower torso.
“The defendant stands convicted of the cold-blooded shooting death of a young unarmed man as he lay wounded on the sidewalk,” Brown said in a statement. “This is another glaring example of why we need to continue to fight to get illegal handguns off the streets.”
Jordan is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Reach reporter Bianca Fortis by email at bfortis@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
