Defendant sentenced for fatally shooting friend in Brownsville

The Kings County Supreme Court at 320 Jay St. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

DOWNTOWN — Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that a man has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for killing a fellow Brooklynite after a dispute in Brownsville.

Gonzalez pointed out that gun violence remains at record lows in Brooklyn despite the incident.

The defendant, Harvey French, 54, of Brownsville, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Phyllis Chu to 23 years to life in prison. He was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on Oct. 17, 2025, following a jury trial.

According to the evidence, at approximately 6:30 p.m., on April 18, 2022, at the Brownsville Houses, in the vicinity of Blake Avenue and Rockaway Avenue, French and the victim, who knew each other, were engaged in a verbal dispute, which was escalated by the defendant when he pulled out a gun and opened fire approximately five to seven times.

The victim was struck in the chest, the side and the legs. When he tried to get away, French continued firing and struck him in the back before fleeing the scene.

The victim was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Following an investigation, the defendant was arrested on Oct. 3, 2022, in Brooklyn.

The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegal John Homnick, Intelligence Analyst Selena Collado and the KCDA Detective Investigators for their assistance on this case.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Schwartz of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Stacie Ulberg of the District Attorney’s Orange Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.