Crime

Clinton Hill man sentenced in shooting death of local homeless man

March 7, 2016 Meaghan McGoldrick

Image via MorgueFile

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A 20-year-old Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for the murder of Gilbert Kelley, a 57-year-old homeless man from Clinton Hill, announced District Attorney Ken Thompson on Monday, March 7.

Photo courtesy of District Attorney Ken Thompson's office — Photo courtesy of District Attorney Ken Thompson’s office

According to trial testimony, on March 15, 2014, Victorious Kingsberry – also of Clinton Hill – was on his way home from a party when he and five friends exited the subway near Grand Avenue.

En route to Lafayette Gardens, a public housing development a few blocks away, the group encountered Kelley – a local homeless man who often swept the sidewalks of Grand Avenue and is said to have helped homeowners with various odds and ends – who told the group to be quiet because neighbors were sleeping.

The group then got into a dispute with Kelley, who is said to have pulled out a kitchen knife. Kingsberry and his friends then crossed to the opposite side of the street, and the defendant fired a .380 caliber handgun – striking Kelley in the chest – and fled.

“This sentence represents justice for Gilbert Kelley, who was a fixture of the Clinton Hill community and died protecting Grand Avenue, the block he loved,” said Thompson. “He was senselessly shot dead by this defendant, who now deserves to spend many years behind bars for killing such a generous and beloved man.”