Two men are headed to prison for what prosecutors say was a brazen, broad-daylight ambush at the Lafayette Gardens NYCHA complex in Clinton Hill. On Tuesday, Alexander Williams, 29, of Brownsville, and Wydeem Rudd, 26, of the Bronx, were each sentenced to 45 years to life for the 2020 killing of 24-year-old Tylee Felder, a shooting that also wounded two bystanders, according to prosecutors.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the sentences in a Tuesday press release, noting that a jury convicted both men on November 25, 2025, of second-degree murder, attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, as detailed by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo then handed down identical terms of 45 years to life for each defendant.
How prosecutors say the ambush unfolded
According to prosecutors and local reporting, Williams and Rudd took a cab to Lafayette Gardens on September 8, 2020, getting dropped near Clifton and Franklin Avenues before walking into the housing complex and opening fire outside a DeKalb Avenue building. Felder was shot six times, including once in the head, and one of the gunmen then fired into a nearby crowd, hitting two men, ages 23 and 24, according to News12 | Brooklyn. At trial, prosecutors said surveillance footage and other digital evidence were key to securing the convictions.
"These defendants walked into a housing complex in the middle of the afternoon, opened fire, took a life, wounded innocent bystanders and put others at risk," Gonzalez said in his statement, emphasizing that the violence unfolded in broad daylight, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. The DA's office said the case was investigated by the NYPD's Gun Violence Suppression Division, the 79th Precinct Detective Squad and the Brooklyn North Homicide Squad, and prosecuted by its Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau.
Gang ties and the wider case
Prosecutors described Williams as a member of the street crew known as "900" and Rudd as an associate, saying the shooting was carried out in retaliation for the earlier killing of a 900 member. That gang network has surfaced in prior, wide-reaching Brooklyn prosecutions, including a 2021 takedown that charged alleged members of groups known as Stack Money Goons and Jayson Fam, according to reporting by the Brooklyn Eagle. Prosecutors said the motive in Felder’s killing was retribution between rival crews.
Justice Leo’s matching 45-years-to-life sentences for both men capped a years-long investigation and prosecution that began with the 2020 shooting. Local prosecutors hailed the outcome as a clear message against retaliatory gun violence and pointed to the lengthy work of detectives and digital evidence teams that helped build the case, according to the DA’s release and local coverage. News12 | Brooklyn reported additional details from court filings and from inside the sentencing hearing.
