A Woodhaven man was sentenced after being convicted of gunning down a Briarwood man in a drive-by shooting in Richmond Hill over five years ago, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Following a four-week trial, Sherman Manning, 40, of 89th Avenue was found guilty on May 16 of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing. He was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison plus five years’ post-release supervision.
According to acting District Attorney John M. Ryan, this sentencing followed Manning’s second trial on the charges – the first trial ended in a mistrial.
“This was another senseless act of violence. A 20-year-old man was killed,” said acting DA Ryan. “The unsuspecting victim was shot once in the head and left for dead in the streets of a residential neighborhood in Queens. The sentenced imposed today by the court is more than warranted and protects the residents of Queens from this violent killer.”
According to trial testimony, at 5:11 a.m. on April 19, 2014, Manning was seen on surveillance footage driving a white pickup truck in the vicinity of 108th Street and 103rd Avenue. His vehicle was an arm’s length away from the victim, 20-year-old Brendan Santiago, who was riding a moped.
Manning opened fire, shooting Santiago once in the left side of the head. He then fled the scene, leaving Santiago to die in the middle of the street. EMS responded to the location and transported Santiago to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Trial testimony said that a witness heard the fatal shot, looked out the window and saw Manning’s truck leaving the scene of the crime and Santiago in the roadway. Another witness testified that Manning admitted to him that he shot Santiago because he was a competing drug dealer.
When questioned by police, Manning implicated himself in the murder by admitting that he was in the area at the time of the shooting and was driving a white truck. Medical, ballistic and video surveillance evidence corroborated that Manning was the killer.
