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Man Convicted for Revenge Shooting Busted Again After Fleeing Trial: DA

Five People Shot in Bushwick
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DCPI

BROOKLYN — A man convicted in absentia of shooting five people in broad daylight in Bushwick in 2013 was busted Wednesday after fleeing during his trial, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.

Curtis Peterson, 25, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on May 23 after he fled following closing arguments in his trial while out on bail more than a month before, the DA said.

Peterson was convicted in absentia of opening fire on Ronaldo Pizarro, 45, and four of his family members on Menahan Street on July 20, 2013, after Pizarro’s 18-year-old daughter reported to police that Peterson had harassed her by showing up to her job at a McDonald's and throwing a milkshake at her.

Investigators found a semiautomatic handgun at the scene, which they linked to Peterson through DNA.

He was arrested in Springfield, Mass. several days later, according to the DA.

Peterson then absconded again during the trial while out on $100,000 bail.

“He brazenly shot and injured five members of the same family in broad daylight,” Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement Thursday. “Like a coward, he fled when it became clear that the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Peterson was busted again on Wednesday after investigators got a tip that he was staying at 731 Lexington Ave. in Bed-Stuy. When members of the NYPD's Warrants Squad arrived at the address Peterson tried to take off a third time, climbing out a rear first-floor window, but was soon found hiding beneath a fire escape in a nearby backyard, the DA said.

He was brought back to court, and "He will now serve the 40 year sentence he so justly deserves,” Thompson said.