On a summer evening in Yonkers, New York, a dispute between neighbors escalated into a fatal encounter. On June 26, 2020, 23-year-old Lateef Butler, a male, was shot and killed outside the apartment building on Nepperhan Avenue where he lived. The incident, which took place just after 6 p.m., was the culmination of an ongoing argument with his neighbor, Terrence Gonzalez.
The entire tragic event was captured by security cameras, providing a chilling and clear account of the final moments of Butler's life.
In the recorded footage, Gonzalez was seen using a. 38 caliber revolver to shoot Butler five times, striking him in the neck, chest, hip, and thigh. Butler was quickly transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Immediately following the shooting, Gonzalez fled the scene on foot, leading Yonkers Police on a chase. Officers eventually apprehended him in the Saw Mill River near Stefanik Park. During the pursuit, investigators recovered the handgun used in the shooting, which had been discarded under a bush.
Terrence Gonzalez was arrested and subsequently indicted on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. His case went to trial, a four-week proceeding where the surveillance video served as critical evidence. The prosecution argued that Gonzalez was the aggressor who pursued and shot Butler. In his defense, Gonzalez's attorney claimed he acted in self-defense, stating that he was fearful of retribution from a previous violent encounter with Butler.
In December 2022, a jury rejected the self-defense claim and found Gonzalez guilty of both murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Two months later, in February 2023, he was sentenced to the maximum of 25 years to life in state prison. The story took a final turn in the summer of 2023. On June 25, 2023, less than a year into his sentence, Terrence Gonzalez was found dead in his cell at Elmira Correctional Facility. The cause of his death was pending the results of an autopsy.
