Manhattan Man Sentenced To 27 Years In Prison For Murder Of 17-Year-Old

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GARY TURNER was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the April 2018 murder of 17-year-old Samuel Ozuna.  TURNER was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by United States District Judge Jesse M. Furman, before whom TURNER previously pled guilty.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Gary Turner killed Samuel Ozuna in order to keep his membership in a crew operating in the Carver Houses in East Harlem.  For this callous crime, Turner will now spend decades in prison.  We thank our partners at the NYPD for their outstanding work on this case.”

According to the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and statements made in court proceedings:

On April 24, 2018, TURNER shot and killed Samuel Ozuna in the vicinity of the George Washington Carver Houses (the “Carver Houses”) on 104th Street in East Harlem.  On that night, TURNER, a member of a crew operating in the Carver Houses, was inside the lobby of a building in the Carver Houses when he learned that individuals whom he understood to be from the nearby Washington Houses were coming to the area.  TURNER’s crew was engaged in a rivalry with a crew from the Washington Houses.  Soon thereafter, approximately four individuals, including Mr. Ozuna, ran toward the Carver Houses building, and as they approached, TURNER fired multiple shots in their direction.  TURNER continued to fire as they fled.  TURNER’s gunshots struck and killed Mr. Ozuna.                      

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In addition to his prison term, TURNER, 25, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the New York City Police Department.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren B. Schorr and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.