A Brooklyn man has been convicted of fatally shooting a Jamaica man while walking down Union Hall Street back in 2016, prosecutors announced Friday.
Teimel Morris, 25, was found guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a two week long trial. He is due to return to court for sentencing on March 5, where he faces 25 years to life in prison, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
“This was a tragic, senseless act of gun violence that claimed the life of a young man. And now another young man, the defendant, faces the possibility of spending the rest of his days locked behind bars,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “The defendant showed a total disregard for human life when he shot and killed the victim. Guns have no place in a civilized society and if you use one, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of he law.”
According to trial testimony, on May 6, 2016, Morris was seen on surveillance footage having a heated conversation with the victim, 28-year-old Edward Harris, outside a deli on 160th Street. After walking together on 107th Street, they were spotted on a different surveillance video walking on Union Hall Street and then out of view when shots rang out.
Witnesses said that they heard the gunshots and then saw a someone running from the area in a black sweatshirt with white sleeves with a gun in his hand. Trial testimony indicated that Morris wore a black sweatshirt with white sleeves that evening.
Officers from the 103rd Precinct responded to the scene and found that Harris had been shot twice in the head. EMS rushed Harris to Jamaica Hospital, where he died of his injuries five days later.
Police arrested Morris on July 14, 2016, and charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
