A Bronx man was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in a 2018 shooting that left his target dead and two bystanders wounded.
“The defendant got out of a vehicle and fired multiple shots, striking a 26-year-old man and killing him,” said District Attorney Darcel Clark. “Two innocent bystanders, a teen and a 29-year-old man, were also shot. The defendant will now go to prison for the needless gun violence that occurred that day.”
According to the investigation, on May 1, 2018 at approximately 10 p.m., in front of 971 Prospect Ave., the defendant, Joseph Cruz, 23, of 1095 Prospect Ave., got out of a vehicle and fired at least eight shots in the direction of Matthew Gonzalez, 26.
Gonzalez was shot twice in the back and once in the arm. A man, who was with a child in a stroller about 30 feet away, was hit in his calf, and a 17-year-old boy was struck in the neck and torso.
Gonzalez was taken to Lincoln Hospital and died less than an hour after arrival. The two bystanders were taken to nearby hospitals and survived.
The defendant fled to Pennsylvania after the incident and was arrested on Aug. 7, 2018. The cause of the shooting may have been gang-related.
