Brooklyn man sentenced for shooting, killing good friend

A Coney Island man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for shooting and killing his good friend in December 2013 because he believed he was romantically involved with his sister.

The defendant, 25-year-old Johnny Velez-Garriga, was sentenced Wednesday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog after being convicted last month on one count of second-degree murder and and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney.

Velez-Garriga testified that he shot his friend Shawn White, 25, six times inside a building on the 2900 block of West 27th Street at around 9:30 p.m., killing him.

The defendant came to believe that White was having a romantic relationship with his sister after seeing the two together the night before and on the day of the homicide.

He emerged from his apartment with a firearm, yelled at his sister, and opened fire on White.

“This defendant senselessly took the life of a close friend,” District Attorney Ken Thompson said “He will now have many years in a prison cell to reckon with the terribly poor choice that he made.”