STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— A Port Richmond man acquitted of murder more than two decades ago has since spent a majority of his adult life behind bars — but for other crimes.
And now, 46-year-old Allah Sears, of Heberton Avenue, is headed back to prison.
Sears was arrested Feb. 27 after police found him with a loaded firearm near a neighborhood park, the latest in a string of arrests over the years.
After multiple stints in prison over the past 25 years, now 46-year-old Allah Sears is headed back upstate after pleading guilty last week to a gun charge in state Supreme Court, St. George.(Advance/SILive.com)
In October, Sears pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the arrest in February.
In exchange for his plea, he is being sentenced by Justice Mario F. Mattei to four years in prison and five years post release supervision. Mattei adjourned the case to Jan. 22 for a sentencing hearing.
A struggle with NYPD ensued, police alleged
On the afternoon of Feb. 27, NYPD officers observed Sears seated in the driver’s seat of a black Mercedes near Heberton Avenue and Bennett Street, in the vicinity of a small park, according to prosecutors.
“(Sears) was alerted to law enforcement’s presence, quickly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee,” said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon in a statement Friday.
An officer who gave chase apprehended the suspect and frisked his pockets, feeling what appeared to be a firearm, according to prosecutors.
The defendant struggled with officers before they pulled a loaded .380 Ruger Semi-Automatic handgun from his pocket, police alleged.
In February, police arrested a man with near Heberton Avenue and Street in Port Richmond on a gun charge. The defendant, who had prior convictions, was seated in a Black Mercedes and attempted to flee, prosecutors alleged in court.(Google Maps)
Court records, meanwhile, show Sears had been arrested twice in December 2024, just weeks before the car stop. Those cases, which include charges of drug possession and petit larceny, remained ongoing as of Monday.
In his statement Friday, the borough’s top prosecutors said illegal firearms “have no place in our community.”
“Those who choose to carry, brandish, or utilize these deadly weapons will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said McMahon.
“We commend our partners in the NYPD for their expert police work and continued commitment to removing dangerous defendants and weapons from our community, and thank Assistant District Attorney Alva Prenga for securing a multi-year prison sentence for this repeat offender.”
Acquitted of murder, then busted in wiretap probe
In 2018, Sears was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a yearlong wiretap-driven narcotics investigation on Staten Island dubbed “Final Kut,” the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.
Many of the defendants were alleged gang members who ran a distribution network that peddled heroin, fentanyl, suboxone and cocaine on the North Shore. At least some of the narcotics were being trafficked from Mexico to Staten Island, prosecutors noted at the time.
Before that, Sears was acquitted of a murder charge.
Charged in the 2000 shooting death of a man in New Brighton, he was acquitted of murder but convicted on a gun charge. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, state records show.
Prosecutors alleged Sears, then 21 years old, killed the victim, Damon Henderson, 28, in retaliation for a failed attempt on the life of Sears’ older brother. The shooting unfolded in a parking lot on Jersey Street. Henderson died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Defense attorney Mark Fonte described the incident as an ambush, as his client was called over to a parked car occupied by Henderson and other men.
Jurors told an Advance/SILive.com reporter afterward that they could not determine whether Sears or Henderson was the aggressor.