A Flatbush man has been convicted for fatally shooting a Brooklyn father in 2016 just after he retrieved his son’s hat that the gang member had stolen, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
“This defendant took the life of an innocent father as he walked away, having retrieved his son’s stolen baseball cap,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “This cold-blooded killing left a family heartbroken, and today’s conviction ensures that the defendant will spend many years behind bars. My thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones as they continue to grieve this tremendous loss.”
The convicted killer, 22-year-old Adonis Barnett, faces up to 25 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter. The fatal shooting occurred in 2016 when Barnett was 16.
According to court documents, 38-year-old Gerald Cummings approached Barnett on Aug. 3, 2016 around 10:18 pm near the basketball courts at Flatbush’s Public School 6 on Bedford and Snyder avenues after his 17-year-old son called him for help when he saw Barnett wearing his “Don C” Oakland Raiders snakeskin and leather cap. The hat, which cost several hundred dollars, was stolen days earlier on July 26.
Once Cummings retrieved his son’s hat, Barnett fired three shots while he was walking away — two of them striking him in the back. He later succumbed to his injuries at Kings County Hospital.
The defendant’s trial went before a jury in Brooklyn Supreme Court, where he was previously tried and convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a gun, among other charges which resulted in a hung jury.
Barnett will be sentenced on May 26, according to the DA’s office.
