NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Queens man who critically wounded a former SUNY Buffalo in a July 2020 shooting pleaded guilty on Wednesday to attempted murder as well as for other crimes, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
Malachi Capers, 20, accidentally bumped into 28-year-old Jeffrey Thurston inside a deli on the corner of Springfield Boulevard and 136th Avenue on July 27, 2020, around 4:30 p.m., according to the charges.
Thurston then allegedly punched Capers, a former defensive end for the SUNY Buffalo football team. Capers chased Thurston out of the store and tackled him onto the sidewalk.
According to Katz, video surveillance caught both individuals wrestling on the ground during the fight. Thurston regains his balance and starts walking away from Capers before turning around and facing him, removing a firearm, and firing a single shot into his abdomen.
Thurston fled the scene but was arrested two days later by the NYPD's Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Katz said Thurston has pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child charges for breaking into his estranged girlfriend’s home on March 13, 2020. Thurston allegedly displayed a knife and choked her 6-year-old son.
He also pleaded guilty to attempted assault for firing a gun at a vehicle where people were seated on July 8, 2020. Katz said that the shooting did not injure anyone.
Thurston pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault in the first degree, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, first and second-degree burglary, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, three counts of attempted assault in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis is expected to sentence Thurston on June 13 to 18 years in prison, to be followed by five years' post release supervision.
"The defendant has admitted guilt in a number of criminal incidents, each one more alarming than the next," Katz said. "From firing a gun at a vehicle, to breaking into the home of his estranged ex-girlfriend, to shooting a young man following an incidental brush of shoulders, this defendant has displayed a complete disregard for public safety time and time again. He has now been held accountable and will spend a lengthy time in prison for his actions."
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