In the winter of 2014, a tragic series of events unfolded in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, leading to the death of 19-year-old Aaron Parkinson. On December 29th, Parkinson had arranged to meet with an acquaintance, Ajuul Manwarring, for a transaction involving forged credit cards. Manwarring instructed Parkinson via text message to come to 29 McClancy Place.
Unbeknownst to Parkinson, this meeting was a setup for a robbery.
Around an hour after the text exchange, Parkinson, a male, arrived at the designated location in a livery cab with a friend. They were met by Manwarring, then 23, and his accomplice, Shaquille Escalona, who was 21. Escalona brandished a gun, pointed it at the occupants of the car, and demanded their belongings. He then pulled Parkinson from the vehicle. At the direction of Manwarring, Escalona fired his weapon multiple times, striking Parkinson six times and grazing his friend in the shoulder.
The livery cab driver rushed both victims to Brookdale Hospital, but the injuries to Aaron Parkinson proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The subsequent police investigation led to the apprehension of both Escalona and Manwarring in March of 2015.
Both men faced the consequences of their actions in a court of law. Ajuul Manwarring was convicted of murder and, in May 2018, was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. Following a separate jury trial, Shaquille Escalona was found guilty of second-degree murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and attempted robbery. In July 2018, he received a sentence of 22 years to life in prison for his role as the gunman in the botched robbery that ended a young man's life.
