NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A Queens man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection with the 2020 shooting death of an NYCHA worker, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Jerald Bethea, 24, last month admitted to firing the stray bullet that killed 25-year-old Darrian Ramdial, a Navy veteran and NYCHA employee, while he was working at the Astoria Houses in April 2020.
Bethea was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
"In broad daylight—in a neighborhood filled with children and families—this defendant fired nine shots," Katz said. "He was trying to shoot someone he had a dispute with. He missed that intended target and instead struck and killed Darrian Ramdial of Mount Vernon. This was senseless gun violence that took the life of a hard-working Navy veteran."
According to court documents, on April 9, 2020, Ramdial was working on the grounds of the Astoria Houses near 3-20 27th Avenue when Bethea got into an argument with four men in the lobby of a nearby building.
As the men left the building, Bethea followed them, pulled out a pistol, and fired nine shots in their direction, prosecutors said. None of the bullets hit his intended target, but one struck Ramdial in the torso.
Ramdial was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for the gunshot wound but died six days later, according to court records.
Bethea fled the scene but was apprehended in October 2020 by the NYPD's Felony Warrant Squad.
