Brooklyn man sentenced to 28 years to life for murder in Fort Greene
Earl Morgan was sentenced to 28 years to life by Judge Laura Johnson on Friday. Photo: SianStock/Adobe Stock
Earl Morgan, 54, of Fort Greene, was sentenced on Friday to 28 years to life in prison for a 2020 shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured.
Morgan was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree assault after a jury trial in April. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Laura Johnson handed down the sentence.
“This was a violent and inexplicable shooting of two strangers by this defendant who, after a minor verbal dispute, retrieved a gun and lay in wait for his victims,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “I hope that today’s sentence brings some closure to the friends and family of Jo’heem Hamilton, a young father, and to the surviving gunshot victim.”
The incident occurred on May 30, 2020, just after 2 a.m. at the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene. Hamilton, 25, and another man, 36, were walking to a store when they encountered Morgan. Following a brief verbal altercation, Morgan retrieved a gun, laid in wait and then fired multiple shots at the victims from point-blank range.
Hamilton, a young father, was shot in the back and died from his injuries. The second victim also suffered serious injuries but survived.
Morgan was arrested on June 16, 2020. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph Bianco and Assistant District Attorney Amelia DiGirolamo under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau chief.
