BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Two members of the Choo gang, including Brooklyn rapper Culture Bermudez, known as CoachDaGhost, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the execution-style shooting of three young men in Canarsie that left a 17-year-old dead, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Tuesday.
Bermudez, 31, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison, while Naquan Pruitt, 30, of Pennsylvania, received 25 years to life. Both were convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder in connection with the March 2021 shooting.
The defendants were convicted following a two-jury trial in early May. Prosecutors said the pair carried out the attack in broad daylight after spotting their victims while driving through rival gang territory.
“This horrific crime” resulted in the death of 17-year-old Bryan Sanon and serious injuries to two other men, ages 19 and 20, Gonzalez said in a statement. “These lengthy sentences reflect the severity of this horrific crime,” he added.
Victims ambushed at intersection after suspects circled block
According to trial evidence, on the morning of March 13, 2021, Pruitt drove a rented Toyota Camry through Brownsville and Canarsie while Bermudez and another gunman were inside. After circling the block twice, Pruitt stopped at the intersection of East 82nd Street and Farragut Road, where the victims were walking.
Bermudez and the unidentified front passenger then exited the vehicle and opened fire. Sanon was struck multiple times, including a fatal shot to the chest. The 19-year-old victim was shot in both legs, and the 20-year-old was shot in the face but survived.
Pruitt was arrested in Pennsylvania on May 25, 2021, and extradited the following month. Bermudez was apprehended in Georgia on July 6, 2021, and returned to New York in December that year.
A Brooklyn rapper and his accomplice were sentenced to decades in prison for a deadly gang ambush that killed a teenager and injured two others.
