A Maryland man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Thursday for killing a Springfield Gardens grandfather in April 2022.
Sheldon Dottin, 51, of Waldorf in Charles County, was convicted at trial last month, three years after he gunned down his ex-girlfriend’s father, 72-year-old Gladstone Barrett, inside his home at 146-28 Guy R. Brewer Blvd.
After the murder of his children’s grandfather, Dottin fled the country to Panama before he was eventually captured and extradited back to Queens. The jury in Queens Supreme Court deliberated for less than one hour before rendering a guilty verdict.
According to the charges and trial records, on April 1, 2022, Dottin exchanged his own car for a rented Cadillac XT5 in East Brunswick, NJ, and drove to Barrett’s Springfield Gardens home. At around 3 p.m. that day, Dottin parked the vehicle around the corner from Barrett’s house and donned a hat, mask and a windbreaker jacket before going inside. Dottin had been dating Barrett’s daughter for years and they had two children together. They lived at Barrett’s home before moving to Maryland in 2016. Barrett’s daughter ended the relationship and moved out in February 2022, something Barrett has encouraged.
After a brief and heated confrontation between Dottin and Barrett, Dottin pulled out a gun and shot the grandfather, causing injuries to his esophagus, liver and right hand. Dottin then quickly left the house. Barrett verbally identified Dottin as the person who shot him to his wife, who came to his aid from another part of the house when she heard her husband calling for help. Barrett also identified Dottin as the gunman to a police officer from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village who was wearing a body-worn camera before EMS rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries two weeks later and was pronounced dead on April 19, 2022.
“Sheldon Dottin left a family without its patriarch when he shot Gladstone Barrett in his own home,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after sentencing.
After shooting Barrett, Dottin fled to Panama as a fugitive from justice until homicide detectives at the 105th Precinct received a tip that Dottin was in the Central American nation. Panamanian police tracked him down and arrested him when he attempted to board a flight from Panama to Trinidad and was extradited back to the U.S. in August 2022 to face murder and weapons charges.
“The defendant thought he could get away with murder by escaping to Panama,” Katz said. “He was apprehended, and last month, a jury delivered its verdict, finding him guilty.”
After he was indicted, Dottin was remanded into custody without bail and sent to Rikers Island to await trial. A clerical error was made following a hearing in Queens Criminal Court in November 2023, which allowed him to walk out of the Kew Gardens courthouse complex as a free man, according to the New York State Unified Court System. When the mistake was discovered, the NYPD’s Regional Fugitive Task Force was called, and they tracked him down days later at an apartment building in East New York, Brooklyn, where he was rearrested and returned to court
Trial openings began on March 31, 2025, and summations on April 10. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, who presided at trial, sentenced Dottin to 25 years to life in prison on Thursday.
“We hope today’s sentencing provides a measure of comfort to the victim’s grieving relatives,” Katz said.
