BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A Crown Heights man was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment and stabbing her new partner in a near-fatal attack, prosecutors said.
Clifton Turner, 39, was convicted in September 2024 of two counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, and petit larceny following a jury trial. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino handed down the sentence.
Prosecutors said Turner initially confronted the 26-year-old victim on November 4, 2020, in the lobby of the ex-girlfriend’s Pulaski Street apartment building, threatening to kill him and stealing his bike. Hours later, around 3:30 a.m. on November 5, Turner forced his way into the apartment and stabbed the victim twice in the left arm, severing a vein and brachial artery.
The ex-girlfriend managed to disarm Turner and call for help. Police arrested him shortly after as he rode the victim’s stolen bike, still carrying two stolen phones.
The victim was hospitalized for four days after being resuscitated at Kings County Hospital, where he had no pulse for approximately 10 minutes.
Key Points
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- Clifton Turner, 39, was sentenced to 12 years for stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s new partner in a 2020 attack
- The victim suffered life-threatening injuries but survived after emergency surgery
- Turner was arrested leaving the scene with the victim’s bike and cellphones