A 36-year-old East New York man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatally shooting his brother inside their shared apartment in East New York in April 2018, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Jahmorley Gayle was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent DelGiudice to 15 years in prison and five years’ post release supervision following his guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter in September.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said that, according to the evidence, on April 22, 2018, Gayle called 911 and initially told responding officers that someone killed his brother, Jahimel Gayle, 37, inside their apartment.
The victim’s lifeless body was found wedged against the bedroom door, which had a head-level bullet hole. He suffered a fatal wound to his neck.
Officers found a gun in the kitchen cabinet, which matched the ballistic evidence and contained the Gayle’s DNA on the trigger and trigger guard, Gonzalez said.
Despite Gayle’s initial claim that another person committed the murder, video surveillance showed that no one entered the apartment at the time of the crime and outer windows of the apartment were secured with bars, the investigation showed. Gayle later made a statement admitting to killing his brother.
A forensic psychiatrist contradicted the defense claim that the defendant suffered from acute delusional disorder at the time of the murder and concluded that his actions stemmed from heavy cocaine use that led to cocaine induced psychotic disorder, according to the DA's office.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Schwartz, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Bureau Chief.
