Shooter In Mt Vernon Garden Bar Case Also Part Of Jail Conspiracy

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The shooter in the Garden Bar case pleaded guilty Thursday, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. announced. G-Shine Bloods gang member Matthew Brown also pleaded guilty to the the subsequent conspiracy to kill a witness in that case.

Brown, a Delaware resident, pleaded to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B violent felony; Assault in the First Degree, a class B violent felony; and, in the jail conspiracy indictment, Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony.

Brown faces 20 years in state prison on the shooting and 10-20 years in state prison on the conspiracy to kill the witness. All sentences will run concurrently.

“Once again, communities in Westchester can feel safer for the good work and collaboration of our prosecutors and investigators with Mount Vernon Police and the county Department of Correction,” said Scarpino. "I commend all of them for today’s guilty plea by gunman and gang conspirator Matthew Brown and for keeping our witnesses safe. Our concentration on fighting the most violent criminals and the gangs, which plague some of our cities, continues to show success. We will not stop."

Jason Garcia, who prosecutors said ordered Brown to do the shooting, was found guilty last week. SEE: Gang Leader Found Guilty In Garden Bar Shooting

At 1:44 a.m. Dec. 10, 2016, outside of the Garden Bar on South 5th Avenue in Mount Vernon, Garcia ordered Brown, a Bloods gang member, to shoot someone who owed Garcia money for marijuana. Garcia is the highest-ranking member of the Westchester set of the Bloods Gang. Garcia was convicted of the shooting Jan. 31, 2020. He will be sentenced March 17, 2020.

The target victim outside the bar was shot in the chest and neck, and an innocent bystander was shot in the head. Both survived, but face life-long medical difficulties. The shooting was captured on surveillance video.

Later, Both Garcia and Brown and three other co-defendants were charged with attempted murder and conspiring to kill an eyewitness to that shooting while being held in County jail. For that, Garcia and the other co-defendants are charged with Attempted Murder in the First Degree, a class A violent felony, and others charges. Those cases are pending.

Investigations into these cases are a collaboration by the Mount Vernon Police Department and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigators. In addition, the jail conspiracy case was investigated in collaboration with the Westchester County Department of Correction.

Westchester County District Attorney’s Investigations Division Gang, Guns and Narcotics Bureau is prosecuting the case.