Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Friday, April 5, that Najhim Luke, 26, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years post release supervision for killing Brandon Hendricks, a 17-year-old high school, rising basketball star and academic standout. He was shot in crossfire by a stray bullet, as reported.

 

In the context of the announcement, Clark said, “Brandon was killed just days after his high school graduation. His dream to play college basketball was ripped away when he was shot with a stray bullet. I want to thank Brandon’s mother, who through this tragedy, has turned her pain into purpose. She has been a vocal advocate against gun violence and has been working with our office to bring meaningful change to the community.”

 

Clark said the defendant, Luke of Walton Avenue in  Mt. Hope was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison and five years post release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Hornstein for first-degree manslaughter and 15 years in prison for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. She said the sentences will run concurrently, and reconfirmed that Luke was found guilty of those charges on Jan. 29, after a jury trial, as reported.

 

According to the investigation, and as previously reported, on the night of June 28, 2020, at 1726 Davidson Avenue, in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, the defendant opened fire at people who had gathered for a barbecue. One of the stray gunshots struck Hendricks, a recent graduate of James Monroe High School, in the back. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and pronounced dead less than an hour later. Luke fled the scene and was arrested on July 6, 2020.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney John Miras, senior homicide counsel and Assistant District Attorney Hailey Lonsford of the Public Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Christine Scaccia, chief of the Homicide Bureau, and under the overall supervision of James Brennan, deputy chief of the Trial Division, and Theresa Gottlieb, chief of the Trial Division.

 

Clark thanked Violence Response and Homicide Advocate Supervisor Ana Pimentel of the Crime Victims Assistance Bureau for her assistance on the case. She also thanked Detective Francis Orlando of the Bronx Homicide Squad and Detective Adam Acosta of the 46th precinct.

 

As reported, Oyate Group, a Bronx-based nonprofit on a mission to alleviate poverty across New York City reopened applications for its fifth annual $20,000 Brandon Hendricks Scholarship for two college-bound high school students from The Bronx in February and closed on March 31. An award of $20,000 over the course of four years goes to each of two successful applicants.

According to Oyate Group officials, the scholarship provides graduating seniors the opportunity Brandon never received, and creates a pathway for students to continue pursuing their educational and professional dreams. Oyate Group officials say the organization works directly with students and families to end the cycle of poverty and gun violence through holistic solutions like the Brandon Hendricks Scholarship and its Beyond Rising Internship program for undocumented youth.

 

The scholarship was eponymously named after Brandon, who was set to attend college with a full-ride when he was gunned down in 2020. Oyate Group launched the scholarship the same year “to ensure Bronx youth have financial access to higher education while memorializing Brandon’s legacy.”

 

Oyate Group officials said Brandon Hendricks Scholarship recipients are also mentored during their first year of college before becoming mentors themselves to the next scholarship recipients, with the aim of establishing a sustainable cycle of leadership development among Bronx youth.