Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the sentencing of Astoria resident Jerald Bethea to two decades behind bars after his guilty plea to manslaughter charges linked to the 2020 stray bullet death of a NYCHA worker. Bethea's ill-fated shot, meant for another during a daylight dispute, claimed the life of Darrian Ramdial, a former Navy serviceman employed by NYCHA, as reported by the Queens District Attorney's Office.
In a detail of events stemming from April 9, 2020, Bethea was embroiled in a confrontation along with about four other individuals in the lobby of a building located on 27th Avenue in the Astoria neighborhood, at that same time, according to the account of the D.A.'s office, Ramdial was outside working when the gunfire broke out and Bethea, following the group out of the building, fired his gun nine times aiming for them but hitting Ramdial instead with a stray bullet. Bethea evaded immediate capture but was eventually arrested months later by the NYPD Felony Warrant Squad.
The sentence handed down by Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise was a 20-year prison term, which will be followed by five additional years of supervised release, District Attorney Katz emphasized the recklessness of the incident highlighting its occurrence, "In broad daylight — in a neighborhood filled with children and families –this defendant fired nine shots. He was trying to shoot someone he had a dispute with. He missed that intended target and instead struck and killed Darrian Ramdial of Mount Vernon. This was senseless gun violence that took the life of a hard-working Navy veteran,” as she condemned the shooting in a public release.
Bethea was apprehended following an investigation that led Senior Assistant District Attorney Timothy Shortt of the Homicide Bureau, along with bureau chiefs and Major Crimes Executive Assistant D.A. Shawn Clark, to build a strong case, ultimately resulting in a guilty plea.
