BROOKLYN — A Crown Heights man is facing 24 years in prison after pleading guilty in a fatal J’Ouvert shooting, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced Friday.
Derek Goodings, 28, pleaded to first-degree manslaughter in Brooklyn Supreme Court for shooting 55-year-old Michael Sampson in the chest on Empire Boulevard during the early-morning parade in 2014. Goodings also hit another man after firing into a crowd and struck an unmarked police van.
"This defendant senselessly fired into a crowd of revelers, taking a man's life and marring what should have been a night of celebration,” acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“The festivities surrounding J'Ouvert ought to be a joyful time for the community and we will aggressively prosecute anyone who shoots or harms people at this annual event or anywhere else in Brooklyn."
Goodings fled after the shooting and then turned his weapon at a responding officer, the DA added. The officer fired at Goodings, but did not hit him.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 15 before Judge Vincent Del Giudice.
There have been several other fatal shootings during J’Ouvert, including the death of Gov. Andrew Cuomo staffer Carey Gabay in 2015.
