A man has been sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for fatally shooting a 27-year-old Virginia man near the Frederick Douglass Houses in 2022, the Manhattan D.A. announced this week.
Donta King, Jr., 26, was convicted last month of murder and weapons charges in connection with the death of Ronald Thomas, who had been visiting the city at the time of the incident. A New York State Supreme Court jury found King guilty on May 2 of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
According to prosecutors, Thomas and King had both been involved with the same woman. In the days before the shooting, the woman had indicated in text messages that she planned to end her relationship with King and rekindle a past romance with Thomas.
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On May 1, 2022, Thomas drove to the woman’s apartment building at the NYCHA Frederick Douglass Houses near West 102nd Street and Columbus Avenue. Around noon, the woman called Thomas, and the two met in a nearby cul-de-sac, where they began arguing near his parked car.
Shortly after, as Thomas sat in the driver’s seat with the car door open, King approached and shot him multiple times at close range, striking him in the head. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene with four gunshot wounds.
King fled the city and was arrested several months later in Pennsylvania. He was extradited to Manhattan in August 2022.
“This vile act of gun violence against a defenseless man continues to devastate Mr. Thomas’ family and loved ones,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “Combating gun violence remains the top priority for my office.”
King was formally sentenced this week to 25 years-to-life in state prison.
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