BROOKLYN, NY – A Fort Greene teenager has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for fatally shooting 15-year-old Unique Smith as the victim sat in a Downtown Brooklyn park near his school, prosecutors announced.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said 19-year-old Wesley Walker was sentenced by Justice Adam Perlmutter following his August conviction for second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Gonzalez said the sentence ensures accountability for the killing, calling Smith “an innocent boy who was simply sitting in a park near his school when he was senselessly murdered.”
Smith was a student at Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, located just blocks from McLaughlin Park where he was shot.
Key Points
- Wesley Walker, 19, sentenced to 18 years to life for the 2022 murder of 15-year-old Unique Smith.
- Smith was shot in the stomach while sitting on a park bench near his school.
- Walker was arrested months later in Binghamton after fleeing Brooklyn.
Shooting followed confrontation in McLaughlin Park
According to trial evidence, on September 7, 2022, Walker and another masked individual approached Smith in McLaughlin Park at around 1:40 p.m. and asked if he was affiliated with a gang.
After a brief exchange, Walker shot Smith once in the stomach before fleeing. Smith was taken to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors said Walker, who was a member of the FNO Woo street gang, had cut class earlier that day and returned at dismissal to recruit other students, including one who acted as a lookout, before heading to the park.
Arrest and prosecution
Walker was captured in Binghamton, New York, on February 1, 2023, following a multi-agency investigation. He was later extradited to Brooklyn to face murder charges.
District Attorney Gonzalez said the case underscores his office’s commitment to reducing gun violence in the borough, noting that shootings in Brooklyn have reached record lows but that “one shooting is still one too many.”
Homicide Paralegal Meghan Brancato and Intelligence Analyst Zoe Feygin of the Digital Evidence Lab assisted in the prosecution.