RIVERHEAD MAN CONVICTED OF FELONY WEAPON AND DRUG POSSESSION AFTER A JURY TRIAL

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Messiah Booker, also known as Matthew Booker, 38, of Riverhead, was found guilty after a jury trial for a May 2022 shooting that occurred while Booker had been on parole release from prison for a separate felony.

“This defendant, a convicted felon on parole, pulled a loaded gun on a teenager, endangering his life, and then later fired that same gun outside of a crowded apartment complex, striking another person in the arm,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Thanks to the prosecutors and our law enforcement partners, today’s verdict is another step forward in holding perpetrators of violence in Suffolk County accountable.”

The evidence at trial established that on May 20, 2022, at approximately 3:50 p.m., Booker got into a verbal dispute with a teenager in the parking lot area of an apartment complex in downtown Riverhead. As the argument escalated, Booker threatened to shoot the juvenile, and then briefly entered his black Jeep Compass before returning with a loaded gun in a fanny pack. Booker then began to pull the gun from the fanny pack, causing him to flee for his life.

The victim’s family arrived at the apartment complex shortly thereafter, and Booker began to argue with them. During the argument, a large crowd gathered in front of the building. Booker went back to his Jeep, retrieved the same loaded firearm from earlier, and shot at one of the people in the crowd. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and struck another victim in the forearm. Booker then fled the scene on foot.

Riverhead Town Police Department officers responded to the scene and located a 9 mm shell casing from the shooting. Booker’s Jeep Compass, which was still at the scene, was impounded and a search of its contents was conducted pursuant to a search warrant. During the search, law enforcement recovered drugs including cocaine and morphine, over $1,000 in small denomination bills, four cellular phones, walkie-talkies, a bullet proof tactical vest, 9 mm ammunition, digital scales typically used to weigh narcotics, and drug packaging material including glassine envelopes.

Law enforcement tracked Booker’s movements with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, and he was apprehended days later and placed under arrest.

In 2006, Booker was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Loaded Firearm in the Third Degree, a Class D felony, and sentenced to three years in prison. In 2017, Booker was convicted of Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree, a Class D felony, and was sentenced to five years in prison. At the time that this shooting occurred, Booker had been released from prison and was out on parole for the Attempted Burglary conviction.

On January 26, 2024, Booker was convicted after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Anthony S. Senft, of the following charges:

• Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class C violent felonies;
• Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree: with the Intent to Sell, Class D felonies;
• Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, Class A misdemeanors;
• One count of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor; and
• One count of Menacing in the Second Degree, a Class B misdemeanor.

After the verdict, Justice Senft remanded Booker into custody. Booker is due back in court for sentencing on February 27, 2024, and faces a minimum of 16 years with a maximum of life in prison. He is being represented by Ian Fitzgerald, Esq.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys William Richards and Raymond Coscia of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective Richard Freeborn of the Riverhead Town Police Department.

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Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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