‘Heartless’ Albany killer gets 50 to life for shootings
ALBANY — Brian Moses shot 18-year-old William Sanders to death as the victim begged for his life. He wounded Billy Rodriguez in the buttocks, then hovered over him trying to fire more bullets when the gun jammed.
On Friday, a judge sentenced Moses to 50 years to life in prison for both daytime crimes, calling Moses a cold and remorseless killer who would prey on more victims if he remained free in society.
“These incidents were heartless. These incidents were completely craven,” acting state Supreme Court Justice Roger Mcdonough told Moses. “And you seem completely unbothered by any of it. You seem unbothered and businesslike when you committed these crimes … and you seem completely unbothered by it today.”
In February, a jury took just over an hour to convict Moses of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Mcdonough sentenced Moses to 25 years to life for the Sanders murder and a consecutive 25year term for shooting Rodriguez (a 15-year sentence for the gun conviction will run concurrently). Before deputies escorted Moses away, Mcdonough told him: “Sir, apparently your vicious, violent and murderous acts have not weighed heavily on you so far. Perhaps over the next 50 plus years of your life they’ll begin to weigh heavily on you. You can take the defendant away.”
Moses told a probation officer compiling a presentencing report that he considered himself “wrongly convicted,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Mccanney told the judge. She said there was overwhelming evidence of Moses’ guilt in both cases.
On July 7, 2022, Moses walked up to a group of young men hanging out in a city park at 843 Madison Ave., engaged in a brief conversation and unleashed bullets. Moses hit Rodriguez in the buttocks, then stood over Rodriguez and tried to shoot Rodriguez more times in the chest but his gun malfunctioned, Mccanney said, highlighting information she received from the victim’s mother.
Less than three months later, on Sept. 30, 2022, before 3:30 p.m. Moses followed Sanders out of a building on the 400 block of Hamilton Street and fired at him. Moses then went into the home, reloaded his gun and hid in his basement before being arrested.
“He shot him when he fell to the ground. He stood over him and shot him multiple times again as Mr. Sanders begged for his life,” Mccanney told the judge. “His actions are so brazen and so repulsive … he took the life of a young man that can never be replaced.”
Sanders, who had just turned 18 and graduated from high school, was an active member of his church, played sports, boxed and was “just a very kind, sweet kid never in any trouble,” Mccanney said. She said Sanders’ mother had only recently allowed her son to hang out without adult supervision.
“For just no apparent reason, (Moses) gunned him down and took his life in the middle of the day, in the middle of the street, just no care, no respect for his life,” Mccanney said. She said evidence suggests Moses had a gun and “just wanted to use it — because there’s no other explanation for his actions.”
Derrick Hogan, the attorney for Moses, said he advised his client not to make a statement because Moses planned to appeal. When given a chance to speak, Moses said he wanted to express his condolences to the families.
“Your condolences for what?” the judge, incredulous, replied.
Moses said it was for any type of pain and suffering they might have experienced.
Taken aback, the judge pressed: “You think the family of a murder victim, someone gunned down in the streets violently, callously … you think they might experience devastating, lifechanging issues as a result of this?”
“Yes, your honor,” Moses said, adding that he then wanted to remain silent.
Mcdonough said the proceeding was “another case in the seemingly endless cavalcade of cases before this court of young Black men shooting other young Black men for no sensical, logical, reasonable, quite frankly, even understandable reason.”
Yet the judge told Moses his case was rare in that it was the first in many years in which several witnesses were willing to testify in open court and identify a shooter. Most cases, he said, involve evidence from electronics such as video or audio recordings from surveillance cameras, police officer body cameras and cellphone records. Mcdonough told Moses his words of condolences for his victims rang hollow.
“I take it you have zero remorse for your victims or their families,” the judge said.