A woman has been arraigned and charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Delia Johnson in the head at point blank range last August, killing her, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez has announced.
"This was a cold-blooded execution of a woman who was a beloved mother, daughter, sister and friend, who did not deserve to have her life taken away from her,” Gonzales said.
“The defendant has now been apprehended and we will seek to bring her to justice for this senseless and tragic killing."
Claudia Banton, 42, of Allenwood, Georgia was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice on Friday on an indictment in which she is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Gonzalez said that, according to the investigation, around 9:40pm on August 4 Banton allegedly approached Delia Johnson, 42, from behind as she chatted with a group of people near Franklin Avenue and Prospect Place in Crown Heights.
Banton allegedly shot Johnson in the head, and then shot her again as she fell to the ground. The defendant then allegedly fled in a vehicle that was double parked nearby. Banton was apprehended in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 8 by United States Marshals. She was extradited to New York on Thursday. She was ordered held without bail to return to court on January 26, 2022. She faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
