Press Release
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO MORE THAN TWO DECADES IN PRISON FOR 2021 SHOOTING IN OZONE PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dwayne Scott was sentenced to 21-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for gunning down a 20-year-old man in September 2021. The victim, father of a toddler and the defendant’s former friend, was fatally shot over an apparent money dispute.
District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant killed his former friend over nothing more than a dispute over several thousand dollars and left behind lasting trauma for both families. His sentencing cannot undo the harm, but we hope it provides the victim’s loved ones with a sense of closure from this senseless act of gun violence.”
Scott, 27, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree before Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on April 9. Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavisnky sentenced the defendant yesterday to 21-1/2 years in prison, to be followed by five years post release supervision.
District Attorney Katz said, according to the charges and investigation, on the evening of September 24, 2021, the 20-year-old victim had just parked a car near the intersection of 102nd Road and 84th Street. He was walking down the street when the defendant stepped out of another vehicle and fired at the victim multiple times at point blank range. The victim was discovered by a neighbor, who transported him to Jamaica Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Just before his death, the young father told the neighbor that “Ferry Balla” – a known nickname for the defendant – from Buffalo shot him.
Scott was apprehended in Buffalo several weeks later and returned to Queens to face charges.
Scott and the victim were former friends who had a falling out over a money dispute valued at approximately $4,000.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Villanueva of the 102nd Precinct Detective Squad and Detective Perez of Queens South Homicide Squad.
Assistant District Attorney Courtney Charles, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Felony Trials Bureau III, and Assistant District Attorney Antonio Vittiglio, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, are prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.
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