Brooklyn man sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for fatally shooting man following argument in East Flatbush bodega

Defendant Shot at Victim Eight Times in Broad Daylight

January 4, 2017 From Brooklyn DA's Office

Herman Lancaster. Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn DA’s Office

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Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Wednesday announced that a 31-year-old Flatbush man has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a 42-year-old East Flatbush man following a dispute inside a bodega. The defendant fired eight times, striking the victim once in the back.

Acting DA Gonzalez said, “This defendant fired off a barrage of bullets in broad daylight and only by sheer luck no one else was injured on that busy street. He has now been held accountable for senselessly taking a man’s life.”

Gonzalez identified the defendant as Herman Lancaster, 31. He was sentenced Wednesday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 23 years to life in prison following his conviction last month on one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a non-jury trial.

The Acting DA said that, according to trial testimony, on Jan. 27, 2015, at approximately 2:40 p.m., Lancaster shot and killed Kerwin Craigwell, 42, outside of the Adrian Deli & Grocery, located at 2073 Nostrand Ave. in East Flatbush, following a dispute. The shooting started inside the store and the unarmed victim was struck on the sidewalk after slipping on snow, the evidence showed. Lancaster was apprehended minutes after the incident during a canvass of the area and identified by an eyewitness.

The case was prosecuted by Senior ADA Lewis E. Lieberman of the DA’s Homicide Bureau and ADA Joy Kieras of the DA’s Trial Bureau, Gray Zone, under the supervision of ADA Kenneth Taub, homicide chief.