Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SEAN PETER, a/k/a “Huggie,” JASON CAMPBELL, a/k/a “Holiday,” a/k/a “Fish,” and STEVEN SYDER, were found guilty yesterday of the murder of 20-year-old Brian Gray in the Bronx on October 2, 2012. PETER, CAMPBELL, and SYDER were also found guilty of conspiring to distribute marijuana and related firearms offenses. The defendants were convicted following a six-day trial before United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “For years, the defendants thought they had gotten away with murder. Yesterday, a unanimous jury said otherwise. We thank our partners at the FBI and the NYPD for their extraordinary work on this case, and for making sure that, no matter the passage of time, justice was done.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:
In retaliation for an attempted drug robbery, the defendants followed Gray and three friends in the early morning hours of October 2, 2012, from a local bodega to a nearby porch on Barker Avenue in the Bronx. The defendants then left the area to arm themselves, returned to where Gray and his friends were located, and opened fire, fatally wounding Gray and injuring two other individuals.
PETER, 35, CAMPBELL, 32, and SYDER, 35, all of the Bronx, New York, were found guilty of conspiring to distribute or possess with intent to distribute marijuana, murder in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The defendants each face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing of the defendants before Judge Buchwald will be scheduled at a later date.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department. Mr. Berman also thanked the Teaneck, New Jersey, Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
