A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 32-and-a-half years to life in prison Wednesday for killing a father of three during a gun battle at the 2019 Old Timers’ Day event in Brownsville.
There were more than 2,000 people and 100 police officers at the 56th annual party when Kyle Williams, 24, got into an argument with Jason Pagan. Williams fatally shot Pagan, 38, in the head and torso, sparking a gun battle that wounded 11 innocent bystanders.
“This wasn’t some sort of impetuous or thoughtless act,” Justice John Hecht said. “[Williams’ conduct] killed an innocent man. It created substantial harm to our community. He endangered others.”
Police have not publicly identified a suspected second gunman or made an arrest.
Jason Pagan, 38, on the day of his murder in 2019.
Courtesy of Jailyn Pagan
Members of Pagan’s family, including his mother Bernice Perez, wore mint green in Brooklyn Supreme Court – the color of Pagan’s T-shirt the day he was killed.
“I buried my son and today I bury you, with the help of the courts,” Perez said to Williams before the sentence was imposed. “Remember that you destroyed two lives, two families – mine and yours.”
Perez, who has long been awaiting justice for Pagan’s killer, said she will now focus on the unsolved killing of her other son, Joel Moore, in 2007.
Williams said he was “deeply regretful” for the shooting. He said he’d opened fire because he feared he or his brother would be killed.
“It was a terrifying moment for all the parties involved,” Williams said. “I honestly believe that facing the things that I was facing, anyone in my position would’ve done the exact same thing. I just couldn’t watch my loved one die in front of me.”
Jason Pagan’s daughter, Jailyn, and his mother, Bernice Perez, attended the sentencing.
Bahar Ostadan
But Hecht said Williams expressed “a lack of remorse.” Williams was found guilty of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless…
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