What to Know
- The man accused in the killing of a beloved Queens teenager will spend decades behind bars, after being sentenced Wednesday.
- Sean Brown was sentenced to 30 years: 25 years for manslaughter in the shooting death of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin, a Cardozo High School basketball standout, in 2019, and five years for a weapons charge.
- Brown, who was 18-year-old at the time of the shooting death, fired three times, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, from a .38 caliber gun, with one of the bullets striking Griffin in the torso. The reputed gang member fired off several shots at the basketball court, aiming for a rival gang member Brown believed to have his phone.
The man accused in the killing of a beloved Queens teenager will spend decades behind bars, after being sentenced Wednesday.
Sean Brown was sentenced to 30 years: 25 years for manslaughter in the shooting death of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin, a Cardozo High School basketball standout, in 2019, and five years for a weapons charge.
Brown, who was 18-year-old at the time of the shooting death, fired three times, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, from a .38 caliber gun, with one of the bullets striking Griffin in the torso. The reputed gang member fired off several shots at the basketball court, aiming for a rival gang member Brown believed to have his phone.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Brown tried to take the plea deal again, which Judge Kenneth Holder called a “dilatory tactic.” Brown said he was trying to buy time to get a new lawyer. Ultimately, Holder denied the plea deal and moved forward with sentencing. The judge also denounced the rise in youth offenders responsible for shootings. He said Brown is the result of the culture of gang violence and that’s he going to have a lot of time to think about his actions.
Surveillance video of the tragic shooting shows Brown fleeing the scene in the moments after the shooting, even admitting he hit his rival in the head.
“But the person he thought he killed was not the teenager whose last breath was on this basketball court,” Katz said.
Griffin’s coach at Cardozo, Ron Naclario, said that while no one feels happy about what happened, “I think we can say you feel a little less sad,” noting that the arrest still doesn’t change that Griffin won’t be stating his junior year next week.
Brown was subsequently arrested in California, and was later returned to New York City to face charges.
Police officers had found Griffin on Oct. 26, 2019, with a gunshot wound at the basketball court at the Baisley Park Houses just after 8 p.m. Detectives had told News 4 that they did not believe the boy was the intended target.
Days later the NYPD released surveillance video of two persons of interest wanted in connection with the South Jamaica homicide. Both parties captured on video were believed to be teens themselves.
An official motive behind the shooting hadn’t previously been released but detectives had long suspected the incident to be gang-related.
Brown’s arrest comes two months after the Queens community gathered at the very basketball court where Griffin died to honor the 14-year-old with a tournament of the sport he loved so much: basketball.
“I made my first shot ever playing with Aamir,” Kamari Edey said at the summer’s tournament. “He was really kind, he always help me. He was just my idol.”
The South Jamaica community has worked tirelessly to keep Griffin’s spirit alive in the years since his death, even completing a renovation of the basketball court where he died with photos of the teen.
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