NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing the son of his landlord during a dispute over his eviction proceedings, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Tuesday.
The 66-year-old, Hopeton Prendergast, shared a residence at 220th Street in Queens Village with the victim, 23-year-old Duwayne Campbell, which was owned by Campbell’s mother, authorities said.
On Sept. 29, 2019 around 5 p.m., Prendergast and Campbell were arguing outside of the house over Prendergast’s pending eviction. Prendergast grabbed a large knife as the dispute escalated and repeatedly stabbed Campbell, officials said.
Campbell tried to escape Prendergast, running away while Prendergast chased him with a knife drawn. The victim then jumped over a railing to escape Prendergast and then ran back into his house where his 16-year-old sister tried to help him, the district attorney’s office said.
The victim died from a stab wound to his abdomen with the knife also piercing his liver, diaphragm and heart, officials said.
Prendergast avoided arrest for nearly three weeks before he was found hiding in a building under construction.
“The evening before the defendant was due in Court on a summons regarding his living situation, he and the son of the property owner argued,” Katz said. “The heated exchange became violent when the defendant grabbed a knife and brutally stabbed the victim. Violence is never the solution to a dispute. A court has now sentenced the defendant to a lengthy prison term for this senseless killing.”
Pendergast was found guilty of murder and a weapons possession charge after an almost two-week trial.
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