Brandon Washington

Brandon Washington was a warmhearted jokester and the "life of the party," a man who cared deeply for his large, close-knit family in Brooklyn, New York. The 42-year-old Black man was a devoted father to his 24-year-old twins, a son and a daughter. He lived in the same house in Bedford-Stuyvesant with his grandmother, Hattie Thompson, his entire life. His family remembered him as a loving, fun, and giving person. “When he had something, everybody had it. That’s who he was,” his aunt Thelma Washington recalled. Just two weeks before his death, he had organized a surprise birthday party for his grandmother. Known to some as "Bezo," he had attended Boys and Girls High School and sometimes worked as a DJ.

On the evening of Friday, May 14, 2021, Washington was out riding a motorized scooter he had recently purchased. He was looking for a barbershop to get a haircut before a family memorial service planned for his late grandfather. At approximately 6 p.m., as he rode near the intersection of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Hancock Street, just a few blocks from his home, a man brandished a gun and, unprovoked, opened fire. Washington was struck by multiple gunshots, including one to his torso. The shooter fled the scene in a black Jeep Wrangler. Emergency responders rushed Washington to Interfaith Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead from his injuries.

The New York Police Department investigated the brazen daylight shooting. For months, the case remained unsolved. Then, on February 3, 2022, police arrested Saalik Jackson, a 47-year-old man also from Bedford-Stuyvesant, in connection with Washington’s murder. The case against Jackson proceeded to trial, but the first jury was unable to reach a verdict after deliberating for less than two hours and indicating they were deadlocked 11-1, resulting in a mistrial.

Following the mistrial, an investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office uncovered evidence of jury tampering. It was found that while jailed at Rikers Island, Jackson had phone conversations with his girlfriend about paying someone to "work on" the case and had sought the names of the jurors from the first trial. Based on this "compelling proof" of attempted interference, the court granted a protective order for the second trial, making it the first in New York state to be decided by an anonymous jury, where juror-identifying information was limited to the lawyers.

The second trial concluded swiftly. On November 14, 2025, after deliberating for just over an hour and a half, the jury found Saalik Jackson guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. On March 17, 2026, a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice sentenced Jackson to 25 years to life in prison. At the sentencing, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stated, “Brandon Washington was unarmed and simply going about his day when this defendant brazenly opened fire, killing him and endangering others nearby... today’s sentence sends a clear message: we will pursue accountability relentlessly for those who bring gunfire to our neighborhoods.”

Washington’s death was a devastating blow to his family, arriving just before they were set to gather for a memorial for his grandfather and an uncle who had also passed away. They incorporated his memory into the event, lighting candles and releasing balloons to honor all three men. His grandmother, who had brought him home from the hospital as a baby, was left heartbroken. His aunt, Lynne Thompson, remembered him for the constant smile on his face. The case is now considered closed, with the perpetrator convicted and sentenced for the murder.