On Friday, a Brooklyn judge closed the books on a deadly 2020 drive-by in Cypress Hills, handing out decades-long prison terms to two men tied to the shooting. Joshua Bonilla was sentenced to 32 years to life, and Bryant Perez, identified by prosecutors as the getaway driver, received 20 years to life after pleading guilty. The gunfire at George Walker Jr. Park on July 26, 2020, killed 16-year-old Kleimer Piron and 18-year-old Antonio Villa, and left a 17-year-old wounded but alive.
Prosecutors say Bonilla stood up through the sunroof of a stolen Honda CR-V and fired about 10 rounds into the park, hitting the teens at close range. Investigators later pulled together cellphone video and other digital evidence that tied both men to the scene. As reported by the New York Daily News, Perez, who was just 15 at the time, recorded portions of the incident on his phone.
Sentences and convictions
Bonilla, now 29, was convicted of murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon and received a sentence of 32 years to life, according to News 12 New York. Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on Nov. 5, 2025, and agreed to a 20-years-to-life term under his plea deal, prosecutors said. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office alleges the two were associated with the Warblock Street gang and had circled the block looking for rivals before opening fire.
What prosecutors said
“Today’s lengthy prison terms hold these defendants accountable,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. News 12 New York reports that Gonzalez added his office remains focused on the relatively small number of people who put neighborhoods at risk, even as shooting numbers in Brooklyn continue to decline.
Legal fallout
Bonilla’s conviction followed a Dec. 16, 2025, jury verdict, while Perez’s guilty plea came a few weeks earlier in November, according to court records. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s newsroom lists the case among several recent gang-related sentences in East New York and Cypress Hills that prosecutors say are aimed at tamping down violence. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office noted that digital evidence, including video, along with witness testimony, played a key role in securing the convictions.
Why it matters
The killings rattled a neighborhood used to periodic spikes in violence but still stunned by teens gunned down in a local park. Residents pressed for safer public spaces and more outreach for young people in the wake of the shooting. The New York Daily News reported that investigators considered the video evidence central to linking Bonilla and Perez to the drive-by. For families and neighbors, Friday’s sentences offer a measure of closure in a case that has hung over Cypress Hills for more than five years.
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