In the early morning hours of September 12, 2015, a tragic event unfolded on 86th Street in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn. Clarence Bryant, a 32-year-old male, was seated in the back of a double-parked car when he became the victim of a fatal shooting. The tranquility of the morning was shattered at approximately 5:30 a.m. when a gunman approached the vehicle and opened fire through an open window.
Bryant was struck eight times, with two bullets hitting his face and another six
lodging in his back. In a desperate attempt to survive, he tried to crawl into the front seat of the car. The driver of the vehicle sped to Coney Island Hospital, but Bryant's injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The brazen attack was captured on surveillance video, which aided law enforcement in their investigation. The footage showed the assailant fleeing the scene in a waiting vehicle. The investigation led to the arrest of Deyshawn James, a 25-year-old resident of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
James was charged with the murder of Clarence Bryant. Following a jury trial, he was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. In March 2018, a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice sentenced Deyshawn James to 37 years to life in prison for the murder. The motive for the shooting was not detailed in the provided information, but the sentencing brought a measure of justice for the father of four who was senselessly killed.
