NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Grand Jury returned an indictment Friday charging Brian Dowling, 18, for the random murder of a Brooklyn activist earlier this month.
Dowling was arraigned on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon in relation to the harrowing killing of Ryan Carson on Oct. 2, the Brooklyn DA's Office said.
The defendant plead not guilty to the charges. Dowling was ordered be held without bail and to return to court on Dec. 8; he faces up to 25 years to life in prison if he is convicted of the top count.
The murder was caught on surveillance video and was used – in combination with additional evidence – to link the defendant to the crime, according to the Brooklyn DA's office.
Carson, an employee at the New York Public Research Group and an advocate for drug overdose prevention, was at a bus stop bench at Malcolm X Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue with his girlfriend just before 4 a.m. on Oct. 2 when he was approached by a troubled individual who had been knocking over mopeds, according to NYPD.
The surveillance video shows the defendant allegedly yelling at Carson, in part saying "I'm going to kill you."
Carson placed himself between the attacker and his girlfriend and attempted to deescalate the situation when the defendant allegedly swung a knife and struck him.
The victim attempted to run away but tripped over the bus stop bench. The defendant allegedly ran over and stabbed Carson three times while he was on the ground, one of which was a fatal blow to the heart.
The assailant flung the knife nearby but returned moments later to grab it; a later search revealed that a knife, which is believed to be the murder weapon, had been hidden under greenery next to a sidewalk close to the scene, the Brooklyn DA's Office said.
Dowling turned himself in to police later that week.
A search warrant found multiple knives with similar handles to the potential murder weapon that was recovered, and clothes matching those that the attacker wore in the video in the defendant's apartment, according to the Brooklyn DA's Office.
Dowling's case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Perry, of the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said of the impending criminal trial: "Ryan Carson was a promising passionate man who worked to make our society better … We will now seek to hold his alleged killer fully accountable for this unspeakably brutal murder."
