BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A 25-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for shooting a rival gang member during a confrontation at the 2023 West Indian Day Parade, prosecutors said.
Ricardo Brown, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was convicted of first-degree assault last month. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Laura Johnson also sentenced him to five years of post-release supervision.
Prosecutors said Brown, a member of the Stain Gang, arrived at the parade armed with a loaded .380 caliber pistol and engaged in a fight with members of the rival 487 gang near 1187 Eastern Parkway. During the altercation, Brown fired two shots, striking a rival in the back and hitting a passing fire truck.
The victim suffered severe injuries, including fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, but survived after immediate medical attention from first responders along the parade route. Brown fled the scene and discarded the weapon in a driveway between two daycares before returning to gang headquarters. Police recovered the gun after a witness reported it, and ballistic analysis linked it to the shooting.
“This case demonstrates the dangers our communities face from gang members who have no regard for human life,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
