On a grim morning in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, a tragic case of mistaken identity led to the untimely death of Aaron Locklear, a 30-year-old male security guard. The fatal encounter unfolded on November 28, 2014, when Locklear and his colleague, James Merced, were on duty at the Riverdale Osborne Towers. A man, later identified as 20-year-old Antonio Mahon of Queens, was driving with friends to his aunt's house when he spotted the two guards.
Believing them to be individuals he had a previous dispute with, Mahon opened fire.
Locklear was struck in the neck by the gunfire, and Merced was shot in the back. It wasn't until Mahon saw a news report about the shooting that he realized he had targeted the wrong men. In the days that followed, Locklear remained on life support until his death on December 4, 2014. The shooting left his partner, James Merced, paralyzed from the waist down. The incident was a senseless act of violence that cut short a promising life and irrevocably changed another.
For weeks, the New York Police Department's violent felony squad pursued the case, which remained without a suspect until a surprising development. Apologetic letters from the shooter began arriving to the families of the victims. These letters ultimately led investigators to Antonio Mahon. He was apprehended on January 9, 2015, and in a confession to Detective David Centeno, admitted to the shooting, stating he always carried a gun due to ongoing disputes in the streets.
Mahon, a member of the Bloods gang, was charged with second-degree murder and seventeen other counts, including burglary, criminal possession of a weapon, trespassing, and menacing. During his trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court, prosecutors revealed that on the morning of the shooting, Mahon had engaged in other violent acts, including chasing and threatening a rival gang member at gunpoint. Following a jury trial, Mahon was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and a host of other charges. He was subsequently sentenced to a term of 76 years to life in prison.
