A pint-sized gangbanger who allegedly sparked a bloody turf warfare that left three folks useless in a single evening was sentenced Friday — and openly instructed a pal within the courtroom to go “smoke that weed!” as he was hauled off to jail.
Up The Hill gang member Zymir Humphrey, 20, was sentenced to 15-years-to-life behind bars by Manhattan Supreme Court docket Choose Abraham Clott after copping to the 2022 homicide of 21-year-old Brandon Atkinson in Alphabet Metropolis.
Humphrey’s deadly capturing of Atkinson, an affiliate of rival Down The Hill gang, led to the grisly killings of harmless school basketball participant Jesse Parrilla and his gal pal Nikki Huang, authorities stated.
Humphrey, who pleaded responsible to second-degree homicide, confirmed no regret for gunning down Atkinson, even flashing a smile in the course of the sentencing listening to.
He did give a brief apology to the households of Parrilla and Huang, who had been discovered shot to loss of life and torched inside a automotive at a Bronx park due as a result of his gang hit.
“I want to apologize to Nikki Huang’s household as a result of in all actuality she had nothing to do with this case, and Jesse’s household additionally. Apart from that…,” he stated, whereas shaking his head.
As a substitute, Humphrey took his ultimate moments earlier than being transferred to an upstate jail to chum it up with a pal within the courtroom, yelling at him, “Yo, smoke that weed!” earlier than being shuffled out in handcuffs.
Manhattan Assistant District Legal professional Andrew Mercer stated Humphrey was the catalyst for a “gang warfare” that broke out on the the Decrease East Aspect after he sought out a rival gang member for mugging Huang and snatching her purse.
Humphrey went into rival territory and shot Atkinson behind the pinnacle close to East third Avenue and Avenue D on Could 15, 2022, prosecutors stated.
However Atkinson had nothing to do with the theft of Huang’s purse, the DA’s Workplace stated.
Members of the Down the Hill gang then kidnapped Huang whereas she was hanging out with Parrilla, a onetime hoopster at Genesee Neighborhood School, authorities stated.
The gangbangers drove the pair to the Bronx hours later and executed them in a automotive, which they then torched, police stated.
Six folks had been shot and three had been killed had been killed in the course of the mindless massacre between the gangs that evening.
“This case is about gang violence, the senselessness of gang violence, the madness of all of it, and what number of lives had been wasted based mostly on nothing,” Mercer stated.
Humphrey was nabbed for the capturing two months later whereas hiding out in Martinsburg, West Virginia, cops stated on the time.
He took a plea deal in November.
Three suspects have been charged within the Bronx for the murders of Parrilla and Huang.
Richard Santiago, 32, was charged final March with homicide, theft, grand larceny and different prices whereas serving out a five-year sentence upstate in a Manhattan gang assault conviction.
His brother, Steven Santiago, continues to be being searched for his function within the killing.
Rahul Cuya and Jahmel Sanders had been additionally face homicide and different prices for the killing and torching.
All of their instances stay lively.
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