East New York

East New York man sentenced to 25 years to life for strangling ex-girlfriend

May 1, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Tristan Anderson. Courtesy of the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office
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An East New York man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Monday for strangling his ex-girlfriend after a fight over child support.

Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. sentenced Tristan Anderson, 30, to the maximum sentence for second-degree murder of Anderson’s ex-girlfriend Shawntell Davis in the Roosevelt Houses of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Davis left behind two children, ages 3 and 8.

“Do you know what you’ve done to my family?” Tashonda Mitchell, Davis’ cousin asked Anderson in court. “I really hope your life is a living hell in that jail.”

Davis’ other cousin, Katy Mitchell, addressed Sciarrino about the sentencing. “Your Honor, my family asks of you: Give Mr. Anderson the maximum sentence possible,” adding that Davis’ children “will never get to see their mother again or get to know her.”

Jolts of applause filled the courtroom when Sciarrino officially sentenced Anderson at Brooklyn Supreme Court.

In Davis’ apartment at 953 Dekalb Ave, Anderson and Davis argued over scheduling who would support their children when Anderson got physical and strangled Davis on July 22, 2014. Anderson was arrested the following day.

“This defendant unbelievably escalated an argument over child support to murder,” said Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “He has now been sentenced to a well-deserved prison sentence for this senseless killing of the young mother of his two children, who are now left to grow up without either parent.”

Anderson’s defense attorney Robert Walters argued for the minimum sentence of 15 years to life, referring to the murder as a “tragedy of very great proportions,” but did not get far in his efforts.

The two children are now being taken care of by Davis’ sister, Shimeeka Mitchell, who could not attend the sentencing.

“I’m really not the person who did it,” Anderson said while looking to Davis’ family in the audience. “My whole issue is [that] I’m not the person everyone is depicting me to be. I’m fully not responsible. That’s all I have to say.”

 

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