Oct. 23, 2023 By Bill Parry
A Far Rockaway man was sentenced on Oct. 23 in Queens Supreme Court to 19 years in prison in a 2020 fatal shooting during a marijuana deal gone bad inside Rufus King Park in Jamaica.
Torren King, 20, of Beach 47th Street, pleaded guilty in July to manslaughter in the first degree in the October 2020 shooting. He also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in an unrelated incident, admitting to firing a gun in Jamaica in June 2021.
According to the charges, on the afternoon of Oct. 15, 2020, Numani Lambert, 22, of the Bronx and two companions arrived at Rufus King Park after they had arranged on Facebook to sell marijuana to a buyer who went by the online name “Pimmy Don.” One of Lambert’s companions used Facebook to send messages to “Pimmy Don,” who responded that he was sending his “boys” to the park to make the buy. Lambert and his companions met King and another man in the park. Because King refused to pay, no marijuana changed hands and Lambert and his companions turned and walked away. King called them back.
With Lambert directly in front of him, King pulled out a gun and said, “Now you have to give it to me,” and fired two shots, according to the charges. A single bullet struck Lambert in the head. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he died three days later.
During a court-authorized search of a co-defendant’s residence, detective from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica recovered the murder weapon, a 9mm Luger, along with nine rounds of ammunition. The man was later identified as the would-be buyer, “Pimmy Don.” He instructed King to rob Lambert and his companions and had another co-defendant drive King to and from the park, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz went to the crime scene in Rufus King Park and discussed the investigation with a detective from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
“Less than $1,000 worth of marijuana cost a young man his life,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “This kind of mindless gun violence, in a public park in broad daylight, is why we will not relent in the fight against illegal guns. It is why we will continue to do everything we can to get lethal firearms and the criminals who use them off our streets.”
Queens Supreme Court Kenneth Holder sentenced King to a determinate term of 19 years in prison for manslaughter and to a determinate term of 10 years for the weapon charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
Two co-defendants in the Rufus King Park shooting are awaiting trial, according to the Queens DA’s office.