A pint-sized gangbanger who allegedly sparked a bloody turf warfare that left three individuals useless in a single night time was sentenced Friday — and overtly instructed a pal within the courtroom to go “smoke that weed!” as he was hauled off to jail.
Up The Hill gang member Zymir Humphrey, 20, was sentenced to 15-years-to-life behind bars by Manhattan Supreme Courtroom Decide Abraham Clott after copping to the 2022 homicide of 21-year-old Brandon Atkinson in Alphabet Metropolis.
Humphrey’s deadly capturing of Atkinson, an affiliate of rival Down The Hill gang, led to the grisly killings of harmless school basketball participant Jesse Parrilla and his gal pal Nikki Huang, authorities mentioned.
Through the sentencing listening to, Humphrey, who pleaded responsible to second-degree homicide, confirmed no regret for gunning down Atkinson.
Humphrey did give a brief apology to the households of Parrilla and Huang, who have been discovered shot to dying and torched inside a automotive at a Bronx park due as a result of his gang hit.
“I would like to apologize to Nikki Huang’s family because in all reality she had nothing to do with this situation, and Jesse’s family also. Other than that…,” he mentioned, whereas shaking his head.
As a substitute, Humphrey took his remaining moments earlier than being transferred to an upstate jail to chum it up with a pal within the courtroom, yelling at him, “Yo, smoke that weed!” earlier than being shuffled out in handcuffs.
Manhattan Assistant District Lawyer Andrew Mercer mentioned Humphrey was the catalyst for a “gang war” that broke out on the the Decrease East Aspect after he sought out a rival gang member for mugging Huang and snatching her purse.
Humphrey went into rival territory and shot Atkinson at the back of the top close to East third Avenue and Avenue D on Could 15, 2022, prosecutors mentioned.
However Atkinson had nothing to do with the theft of Huang’s purse, the DA’s Workplace mentioned.
Members of the Down the Hill gang then kidnapped Huang whereas she was hanging out with Parrilla, a onetime hoopster at Genesee Group Faculty, authorities mentioned.
The gangbangers drove the pair to the Bronx hours later and executed them in a automotive, which they then torched, police mentioned.
Six individuals have been shot and three have been killed have been killed through the mindless massacre between the gangs that night time.
“This case is about gang violence, the senselessness of gang violence, the insanity of it all, and how many lives were wasted based on nothing,” Mercer mentioned.
Humphrey was nabbed for the capturing two months later whereas hiding out in Martinsburg, West Virginia, cops mentioned on the time.
He took a plea deal in November.
Three suspects have been charged within the Bronx for the murders of Parrilla and Huang.
Richard Santiago, 32, was charged final March with homicide, theft, grand larceny and different expenses whereas serving out a five-year sentence upstate in a Manhattan gang assault conviction.
His brother, Steven Santiago, continues to be being hunted for his function within the killing.
Rahul Cuya and Jahmel Sanders have been additionally face homicide and different expenses for the killing and torching.
All of their circumstances stay lively.
