Brooklyn man gets 33 months for witness intimidation

January 22, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. Eagle file photo

Share this:

On Thursday morning, at the Eastern District federal courthouse at Cadman Plaza East in Brooklyn, Kysheeq Randolph was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. for making threatening hand gestures at a government witness who was testifying in a federal criminal trial.

Randolph, 24, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in February 2020 to a superseding criminal information charging him with witness retaliation.

In October 2019, Devone Jefferys, a relative of the defendant, was on trial at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn for his role in a home invasion armed robbery.

During the trial, while a witness who had participated in the robbery was testifying, Randolph was seated in the public gallery of the courtroom in the witness’ line of sight. Randolph began making gestures with his hand to mimic the shape of a gun and pointed it to his head and then to his chin in an upward movement to threaten the witness, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Seth D. DuCharme, acting United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence. “It is a solemn duty of law enforcement to protect witnesses who testify at trial and attempts to brazenly intimidate or terrorize them will never be tolerated.” stated DuCharme. “Today the defendant learned that such flagrant disregard for the rule of law will be punished with incarceration.”

DuCharme thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division, and the United States Marshals Service, Eastern District of New York, for their work in the case.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Genny Ngai.