A prominent Queens gang member who shot and killed 14-year-old high school basketball star Ahmir Griffin in 2019 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, the Queens District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Sean Brown, 21, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, conspiracy and weapons charges in connection with the senseless killing, which authorities say was a case of mistaken identity.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz previously said Brown, a known member of the Money World street gang, allegedly shot Aamir after mistaking him for a member of a rival gang.
On Wednesday morning, Queens Supreme Court Judge Kenneth Holder sentenced Brown to 25 years in prison for the manslaughter charge, an additional five to 15 years for the conspiracy charge and five years for the firearms charge.
The DA’s office said the conspiracy and firearms sentences will run consecutively. Mr. Brown will be subject to five years of supervision upon his release.
“While Armil Griffin’s killer has been brought to justice, we know the heartache continues for his loved ones,” Katz said in a prepared statement. “Children should not feel unsafe going to the park, and parents should not have to bury their children.
“Gang violence takes a huge toll on our communities,” she continued. “We will continue to do everything in our power to remove illegal guns from our streets to prevent families from experiencing a tragedy like this again.”
Aamir’s tragic murder, which occurred around 8pm on October 26, 2019, shocked the neighborhood.
That day, Aamir, a freshman at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School who had already been scouted by college scouts, was playing basketball at Bazley Park House and Brown saw Aamir from the football field away. I thought it was a rival gang banger.
Prosecutors said Brown hit .380 and made three shots. One bullet pierced Aamir’s chest, tearing out both of his lungs and killing him.
“At the very least, when kids go to parks and playgrounds, families should know they’re coming home,” Katz said, standing near the same courtroom where her child died in 2021. Told.
Police identified Brown as the potential killer just four days after the shooting. However, he fled to California and evaded arrest until Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrested him in the summer of 2021 and extradited him to New York.
Aamir’s mother, Shanequa Griffin, told the Post at the time that she was relieved to know her son’s killer had been returned to the Empire State to face justice.
“He took a lot from me,” she added. “He broke my heart. I just want him to know that he’s going to get what he deserves.”
Prosecutors said Brown was captured on surveillance video running away after firing the gun.
The video also showed Brown allegedly boasting, “No, I saw you hit him.” It’s – a drop,” the prosecutor said.
Police previously said Brown was “very well known” to officers at the local precinct.
Katz said he was one of 33 known gang members arrested in the March 2023 raid, which resulted in a 151-count indictment in which many defendants were charged with murder, conspiracy and other crimes. It is said that it led to
The office said the charges also include nearly 20 other shootings involving three rival gangs in southeast Queens: Money World, Local Trap Stars and Never Forget Loyalty. It is said to have originated from a blood feud between them.
Prosecutors said the gang war also included the shooting death of 26-year-old Sean Vance on New Year’s Eve 2020.
The man who allegedly pulled the trigger, Timmers Bey-Foster, remains in custody on suspicion of murder, but the seven-year corrections veteran was killed in the face after assaulting a Rikers Island guard earlier this week. He is said to have suffered serious injuries, including fractures to his sinuses in several places. A cut under her eye.
