BROOKLYN — A 22-year-old Brooklyn man is facing 57 years to life in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting a sheet metal worker in East Williamsburg, prosecutors said.
Bryan Aponte of Bushwick was convicted Wednesday of murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the fatal 2015 shooting of Michael Matusiak, 53, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said.
Matusiak and Derrick Robinson, his co-worker, approached Aponte and two others after Matusiak saw the men pry open a car door near the sheet metal shop they worked at on Knickerbocker Avenue.
Robinson said at the time that Matusiak confronted the men, at which point Aponte turned and fired five shots at them. Matusiak was hit in the torso, Robinson was struck in the torso and right ear, and a 13-year-old girl walking to school was hit in the hip.
Matusiak was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Michael Matusiak was a beloved father who was senselessly shot to death after standing up to this defendant, who was breaking into cars,” said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement.
Three weeks after the incident, Aponte was arrested at his grandparents’ home after they called police to say he wanted to surrender, the DA said.
He will be sentenced on Aug. 30.
