NEW YORK, NY – Adonis Barnett, 22, of Flatbush has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting a 38-year-old father after he retrieved a baseball cap that members of the defendant’s gang had robbed from his son days earlier.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “This defendant took the life of an innocent father as he walked away, having retrieved his son’s stolen baseball cap. This cold-blooded killing left a family heartbroken, and today’s conviction ensures that the defendant will spend many years behind bars. My thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones as they continue to grieve this tremendous loss.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Adonis Barnett, 22, of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The defendant was convicted today of first-degree manslaughter following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Raymond Rodriguez. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 26, 2022.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on August 3, 2016, at approximately 10:18 p.m., near the basketball courts outside of P.S. 6, in the vicinity of Snyder and Bedford Avenues, the defendant shot the victim, Gerald Cummings, once in the back and once in the back of the head. The victim had approached the defendant, who was 16 at the time, and another teen who had robbed his son’s ‘Don C’ Oakland Raiders leather and snakeskin baseball cap, on July 29, 2016. The cap was valued at several hundred dollars.
On the night of the shooting, witnesses saw the defendant with an individual who was wearing the distinct stolen cap prompting the victim’s 17-year-old son to call his father for assistance. When the victim arrived and got his son’s hat back, the defendant brandished a gun and fired three times at the victim as the victim was walking away, striking him twice, the evidence showed.
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office – Statement
The victim died at Kings County Hospital as a result of gunshot wounds.
A previous trial ended with a conviction of second-degree criminal possession of a gun, and a hung jury on other charges.