BUSHWICK — A man who escaped to Jamaica after killing a 16-year-old boy over drug turf was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday for the crime, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
Michael Keating, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder last month for shooting 16-year-old John Eric Ogaldez on Linden Street in 1997 and leaving him to die between two parked cars.
At the time, Keating was a 27-year-old local drug dealer who accused John Eric's friend of taking over his turf, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.
Keating shot at John Eric's friend, who ran away, and then shot John Eric in the back and stomach. Afterward, Keating fled to Jamaica, where he lived until he was arrested in 2013 for the crime.
He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alan Marrus.
“The defendant was on the run for over 10 years thinking he got away with murder and cowardly living his life on the island of Jamaica," Thompson said in a statement.
"With this long prison sentence, the defendant will have plenty of time to think about the lives he destroyed, including his own.”
Keating's attorney was not immediately available for comment.
John Eric's mother Mona Sebastian was in court for Keating's conviction and said "justice was served" with the jury's decision, according to the New York Post.
But Keating's long stay in Jamaica needs to be accounted for, she said.
"You're not even hiding, you're living this life and have a family," she told the Post. "He needs to account for those years."
