The man who murdered a father celebrating his three-year-old son’s birthday in Scarangella Park in Gravesend has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Raheem Dunaway, 36, of Gravesend, was sentenced on Weds., Jan. 9 by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jill Konvisor, a month after his conviction on second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges.
Dunaway shot to death 30-year-old Daquan Spencer on Aug. 21, 2016 in the Stillwell Avenue park, where an anti-gun violence event, also meant to celebrate six young men whose lives had been cut short by gun violence, was taking place.
“This was a completely brazen and senseless murder of an innocent man,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “That it took place during an event meant to honor victims of gun violence and deter further fatalities is heartbreaking. In Brooklyn, we are committed to ending the cycle of gun violence that is destroying too many young lives and leaving families devastated.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Dunaway had been arguing at random with people in the park before he approached Spencer, whom he shot at 20 times, firing at the victim for no apparent reason and striking him 17 times in various parts of his body. The shooting continued, according to evidence, even as Spencer — who had fallen to the ground — tried to crawl away from Dunaway.
According to the DA, Dunaway took off in a waiting vehicle after shooting Spencer. He was arrested on Nov. 10, 2016 in Loris, South Carolina, and extradited to New York, where he was identified by witnesses who picked him out in a police lineup.
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