50 yrs. in 2 ma slays
Goons in gang dispute fired wildly at B’klyn barbecue
The men convicted of murdering two young mothers in a Brooklyn courtyard on a summer’s night two years ago were sentenced to 50 years-to-life in prison on Monday.
Relatives and friends of Chynna Battle, 21, and Shaqwanda Staley, 29, who packed the courtroom, had long ago been condemned to a life of misery.
Battle’s mother, Mozelle Brown, called the trial a “triumphant victory,” but said her daughter’s death is an open wound.
“She was a beautiful ball of fire,” the still grieving woman said. “She was the only one of my children that called me mother. She was the jokester of the family, hard working. She was committed to her daughter and making a better life for her.”
The women were cut down in the crossfire of a Brooklyn gang dispute as residents of the Stuyvesant Gardens Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant and their neighbors enjoyed a barbecue.
Nazir Saunders, 22, of Harlem, and Anthony Alexander, 19, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, were each convicted on May 20 of two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the July 12, 2017, slayings.
Prosecutors said Saunders (photo right) and Alexander (far right) fired 10 shots in the courtyard of 750 Gates Ave. at around 9:30 p.m., missing their intended targets but striking the women. The gunmen were arrested on October 31, 2017, in South Carolina.
Battle, the mother of a 3year-old daughter, was shot in the head, and Staley, who had a 9-year-old daughter, was shot once in the back.
“Two innocent women lost their lives and two young girls were robbed of their mothers when these defendants opened fire without regard for who might be harmed by their bullet,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “I hope today’s prison sentence makes clear that there are serious consequences for those who devastate families and terrorize our communities with senseless acts of gun violence.”
Brown said her daughter had planned to join the Navy and eventually start her own magazine. Her granddaughter, she said, is forever scarred.
“She never gave her daughter a huge birthday party because we always talked her out of it,” said Brown.’O`h Chynna, wait till she’s older, that way she’ll remember it.’ Her daughter is stepping up into kindergarten this year, and she will not be there for it.”
Staley’s sister directed her fury at the killers. “You didn’t only mess up my family, Chynna’s family, you messed up your own life,” Shameeka Staley said. “No one wins in this situation. You’re in jail for life, and guess what, I can never hear or see my sister again. While you all are breathing, my sister is just dead.”
Judge Evelyn Laporte repudiated the convicted murderers for their lack of remorse and said, “They entered the backyard of Stuyvesant Gardens and purposely headed towards a group of people sitting and enjoying a peaceful summer evening.
“Each defendant armed with a firearm unloaded their guns into this unsuspecting crowd of men, women and children. Two innocent young mothers lost their lives,” the judge said.
Alexander, in a written statement, maintained his innocence.
“You have the wrong person convicted on this case,” he said. “On July 12, 2017, two lives were tragically lost. Today on June 10, 2019, two lives were lost as well.”