A 34-year-old Jamaica man was sentenced to 24 years in prison for shooting a fellow mourner four times outside a Queens funeral chapel, standing over the victim's body and continuing to fire even after he collapsed in the street. Joseph Gilbert Stevens pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing 49-year-old Valley Stream resident Richard Carter outside Shekinah Youth Chapel on April 10, 2026.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant imposed the 24-year sentence along with five years of post-release supervision, according to Shore News Network. Stevens rode a Citi Bike to the intersection of Merrick Boulevard and Sayres Avenue at approximately 2:12 p.m. that day, according to the outlet's reporting on the case, which was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Kanella Georgopoulos of the Queens District Attorney's homicide bureau.
Court documents indicate Stevens spent five minutes inside the chapel, part of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral, before ambushing Carter outside, according to the Queens Gazette. He then approached Carter on Sayres Avenue and, according to prosecutors, shot him four times.
An Execution Behind a Hearse
According to a statement from the Office of the District Attorney Queens County, after Stevens shot Carter at point-blank range, Carter collapsed on the street behind a hearse — and Stevens stood over his body and kept firing. District Attorney Melinda Katz said the defendant acted “without consideration or respect for an entire community,” and Katz noted the act showed a total disregard for the grieving crowd gathered outside the chapel.
Emergency responders rushed Carter from the shooting scene near Archie Spigner Park to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from multiple torso wounds, according to a report by News 12 Bronx. Katz said the sentence might offer some comfort to Carter's friends and family.
Police reports broadcast by WABC described the suspect fleeing north on 170th Street wearing a DKNY jacket, a colorful sweatshirt, and orange sneakers immediately after the shooting, per Daily Voice. Officers searched the surrounding area before Stevens was apprehended the day after the shooting, according to prosecutors.
A Funeral for an Alleged Drug Kingpin
The funeral both men attended was for John “Stubby” Price, a 49-year-old Queens resident who died on March 29, 2026, while held in custody at Rikers Island. Price had been taken to Elmhurst Hospital after needing medical care while detained at the jail complex, the same outlet's report notes.
Price's death marked the second Rikers Island detainee death within four days, sparking renewed public protests and calls for jail management reform in New York City, according to the Queens Daily Eagle. Community groups cited Price's death in pressuring city officials over jail safety, per that outlet.
Nearly two years before his death, the Queens District Attorney's Office indicted Price in December 2024 as the alleged ringleader of a major Jamaica drug-trafficking operation following a two-year undercover investigation called “Operation The Price Is Right.” Price had faced a potential life sentence on 48 counts before he died in custody, according to the Office of the District Attorney Queens County.
A limousine driver hired for the funeral told WCBS that Carter and Price were longtime friends, according to Daily Voice. The driver said he was scheduled to transport Price's family from the service before the gunfire broke out.
From Murder Charge to a Plea Deal
Following his arrest on April 11, 2026, NYPD investigators initially charged Stevens with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a loaded firearm, according to Newsday. Prosecutors later agreed to a manslaughter plea deal, and Stevens pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in July 2026, choosing that path rather than proceeding to trial.
Under New York Penal Law § 125.20, first-degree manslaughter is a Class B violent felony punishable by a determinate prison sentence ranging from 5 to 25 years, and Class B violent felonies also require post-release supervision, according to the Marwaha Law Group. Stevens's 24-year term sits near that statutory maximum. He was sentenced in September 2026.
The exact motive behind the shooting — whether it stemmed from Price's dismantled narcotics enterprise or a separate personal dispute — has not been detailed in court filings or official statements reviewed for this report.
