A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the murder of a 43-year-old father who was fatally shot while protecting his teenage daughter during an armed burglary attempt in Crown Heights.
Waki Bullock, 33, was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder for the 2019 killing of Phillip Scarlett at the Kingsborough Houses, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release on Jan. 10.
The attack happened on Jan. 13, 2019, at approximately 1:30pm inside 219 Kingsborough 2 Walk, part of NYCHA’s Kingsborough Houses. According to trial evidence, Bullock and an alleged accomplice, Rashawn Brown, 28, both armed and masked, confronted Scarlett’s 14-year-old daughter as she approached her father’s apartment.
The girl, visiting to collect laundry money, screamed for help when the men grabbed her. Scarlett rushed to the door, shielding his daughter and pushing her back into the apartment. Bullock and Brown dragged him down the staircase, where they shot him in the hip and thigh before fleeing the scene. Scarlett was later pronounced dead at Interfaith Medical Center where he was rushed for medical attention.
“The viciousness of the defendant’s actions cannot be overstated, and the lengthy prison term to which he has been sentenced holds him accountable for killing an innocent man in cold blood," Gonzalez said. "As Brooklyn ended last year as the safest on record for gun violence, my office remains committed to protecting our communities and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
Bullock fled to Georgia but was apprehended and extradited to Brooklyn in July 2021.
His alleged accomplice, also of Crown Heights, faces charges including second-degree murder, first-degree attempted burglary and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His case is pending, with a court date set for Feb. 6, 2025.
