Man Sentenced To 20 Years After Fatal Shooting Over Fanny Pack: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison after shooting and killing someone over a fanny pack, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Marcus Reid, 24, was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision, after pleading guilty to manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon for the fatal shooting of Branzel Bonner, 25, of Riverhead, in December, 2021, Tierney said.

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on December 2, 2021, at about 9:50 a.m., in the woods behind 50 Middle Country Road in Coram, Reid fired multiple rounds from a semiautomatic .40 caliber handgun at the ground below Bonner’s feet, demanding that he hand over his fanny pack, the DA said.

When Bonner refused, Reid repeatedly shot Bonner in the torso, Tierney said. Reid then attempted to remove Bonner’s fanny pack from his motionless body, but was unsuccessful, so he instead removed the contents, the DA said. Reid then fled the scene, Tierney added.

Bonner was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital within an hour of the shooting, Tierney said.

On February 7, Reid pleaded guilty before Justice Stephen L. Braslow, to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. a Class C felony, Tierney said.

Reid was represented by Christopher Brocato, who was not immediately available for comment.

"Today’s sentence brings justice to Mr. Bonner’s family and also removes this dangerous defendant from our streets in Suffolk County," said Tierney. "Anyone threatening the safety of our neighborhoods, particularly with gun violence, will be held accountable."