Brooklyn man sentenced for killing grandmother

CONEY ISLAND — Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that a man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a construction worker in a broad daylight shooting outside a Coney Island job site.

The defendant opened fire on a group of workers, killing a 53-year-old grandmother and wounding another individual.

“This was a senseless act of violence that took the life of a hardworking woman, devastating her family. Dorothy Dixon was a mother of six and grandmother of many more, who was just trying to earn a living when her life was viciously cut short,” Gonzalez said, noting that despite gun violence currently being at record lows in Brooklyn, he’s committed to further driving down shootings.

The defendant, Malik Fryar, 34, of Coney Island, Brooklyn, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Phyllis Chu to 25 years to life in prison. He was convicted of second-degree murder on Sept. 3, 2025, following a jury trial.

According to the investigation, on Feb. 4, 2019, at approximately 11:40 a.m., the defendant approached a construction site on West 33rd Street in Coney Island where Dorothy Dixon, 53, and other construction laborers were gathered seeking work.

The defendant, who was also seeking work, drove his vehicle up to the scene with his wife in the passenger seat, exited the vehicle and began arguing with one of the workers over job opportunities.

After the dispute became heated, the defendant returned to his vehicle, retrieved a loaded, illegal firearm and fired multiple shots toward the group, striking Dixon several times. Another worker was struck in the foot by the gunfire as he fled.

Dixon was later pronounced dead at the hospital, and the surviving victim was treated for his injuries.

The defendant fled on foot to his nearby residence while his wife drove the car to an unknown location. The car was recovered about a month later, abandoned approximately five miles away in Brighton Beach.

The defendant was arrested on July 17, 2019, when members of the NYPD Warrants Squad discovered him in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, attempting to escape through an air conditioner duct.

The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegals John Homnick and Andy Wang, Intelligence Analyst Victoria Genna-Schmidt and Victim Advocate Catherine Cruz for their assistance in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Mirabella of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Khrystyna Sahin of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.