A Brooklyn man on Wednesday was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally gunning down another man in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendant as Rahmell Howell, 29, was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree reckless endangerment and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on June 16, 2025, following a jury trial.
According to the evidence, on Sept. 10, 2021, at approximately 6:00pm, the victim, Jermaine Isaiah Hill-Cross, 23, was standing in front of 354 Clifton Pl. At the time, the defendant and another individual were inside an apartment located at 366 Clifton Pl. Upon seeing the victim, the defendant and the other person immediately exited the apartment and walked up to the victim. The defendant was brandishing a gun, and the victim ran away. The defendant then chased the victim down Clifton Place, according to the evidence, and fired six shots, striking the victim once in the chest. A 42-year-old man standing on the block was struck once in the buttocks.
The victim, who was a former friend of the defendant and went to school with him, was lured to the area after getting some phone calls an hour before the murder, taking a taxi from Manhattan to Brooklyn, according to the evidence.
The defendant, who boasted about the shooting on social media, was arrested on November 5, 2021.
“This defendant opened fire in broad daylight on a crowded street, killing his intended target and striking an innocent bystander," Gonzalez said in a statement. "He was arrested and prosecuted following a thorough investigation and has now been held accountable."
