Brothers sentenced to 12 and 16 years in prison for Yonkers shooting

Two brothers convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of a Yonkers man were sent to prison Thursday after the judge rejected their renewed claims of innocence.

Westchester County Judge George Fufidio sentenced Deiandre Phillips to 12 years in prison and Daquann Johnson to 16 years.

Earlier: Brothers convicted of attempted murder in 2023 Yonkers shooting

A jury in March convicted the brothers of attempted murder, assault and weapon charges in the Jan. 20, 2023, beating and shooting of a 28-year-old man outside the victim's St. Joseph's Avenue home. The defendants and the victim did not know each other, but Phillips and the victim got into an argument that became physical. Jurors believed that when Johnson arrived, he attacked the victim, who was then shot in the back as he tried to go back into the house.

The fight, but not the shooting, was caught on video. The brothers testified that they were there and were engaged in a fight but that neither shot the victim or even had a gun. They suggested that a woman they claimed stood outside the house and held a bag could have been the shooter.

The victim did not testify at the trial although his grand jury testimony identifying the brothers as his assailants was read to the jury. Fufidio ruled following a hearing that the victim was not available as a witness because of credible allegations that the defendants had pressured him to recant his identifications of them.

Assistant District Attorney Nadine Nagler said the defendants continue not to take responsibility for their actions and had "perpetrated a fraud on the Court". Authorities have said the intimidation began when the victim and Phillips were at the Westchester County jail at the same time months after the shooting and that the victim no longer wanted to cooperate because he was fearful.

Defense: victim should have been available as witness

But the brothers deny there was any intimidation and that letters the victim wrote trying to clear them of any responsibility were his own and not the product of coercion. And in an interview with a private investigator for Johnson in late March, the victim said he was unable to identify the men he fought with and denied being forced to recant.

Both defense lawyers said the convictions would be appealed based on the hearing ruling. Johnson's lawyer, Richard Ferrante, faulted the judge for not putting the victim into custody weeks before the trial when Fufidio had the chance to ensure that the victim would be available to be called as a defense witness.

The defense lawyers urged the judge to impose sentences that had been offered if their clients had pleaded guilty before trial, six years for Phillips, 32, and nine years for Johnson. Fufidio said he was not penalizing the defendants for exercising their right to a trial, but did believe they had perjured themselves on the witness stand and had intimidated the victim into not wishing to testify.

Johnson, who turns 34 Saturday, repeatedly tried to get the court to hear the evidence his private investigator, Manuel Gomez, had collected. But Fufidio said that what he was describing was irrelevant because the brothers had taken the witness stand and acknowledged they were there.

One relative became angry with Fufidio and court officers demanded he leave after he called the judge a "tyrant".

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers NY brothers get prison terms for attempted murder in 2023