An Astoria man pleaded guilty to manslaughter for firing the shot that killed a Navy veteran who worked as a groundskeeper at the Astoria Houses in 2020. (via Google Maps)
Jan. 16, 2025 By Bill Parry
An Astoria man admitted that he was the teen gunman who fired the stray shot that killed an innocent bystander at the Astoria Houses complex in 2020.
Jerald Bethea, 24, of 27th Avenue, pleaded guilty on Monday in Queens Supreme Court to manslaughter in the first degree for the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Darrian Ramdial, a groundskeeper at the NYCHA complex from Mount Vernon, NY, who was struck by the bullet that Bethea intended for someone else.
According to the charges, at around 3 p.m. on April 9, 2020, Ramdial was working near 3-20 27th Ave. At the same time, Bethea was involved in a dispute with approximately four other men in the lobby of 3-20 27th Ave. and followed after the men as they left the building and pulled out an illegal handgun. He pointed and fired nine shots at one of the men. None of the bullets hit their intended target and instead struck Ramdial in his torso.
EMS transported the victim to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his gunshot wound six days later and was pronounced dead.
Bethea fled the crime scene and was apprehended several months later by members of the NYPD’s Felony Warrant Squad in October 2020.
“This defendant fired an illegal gun in broad daylight to settle a dispute and instead killed Darrian Randal, a hard-working, young Navy veteran who was not the intended target,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Bethea pleaded guilty before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, who is expected to sentence him on Feb. 25 to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“We cannot reverse what happened but hope this plea and the expected sentence bring a measure of solace to Mr. Ramdial’s loved ones,” Katz said.
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