Thief Who Killed Man Who Saw Him Breaking Into Cars In Williamsburg Gets Up To Life In Prison

EAST WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A man convicted of murdering the metal worker who tried to stop him from ransacking cars has been sentenced and could spend his life in prison, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Bryan Aponte, 22 was sentenced to 33 years to life in prison for shooting Michael Matusiak, 53, on the corner of Grattan Street and Knickerbocker Avenue on Oct. 6, 2015, when he was caught breaking into cars , according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

Matusiak, a father who worked at the nearby ABNY sheet metal shop, and his 57-year-old colleague tried to stop Aponte but he shot Matusiak in the chest and buttock, his colleague in the torso and ear, and a 13-year-old girl — who happened to be walking to school nearby — in the hip, said prosecutors.

Keep up with news from your neighborhood by signing up for the Williamsburg Patch free daily newsletter.

Matusiak died in the street and Aponte’s other two victims were treated at Elmhurst Hospital, prosecutors said.

Aponte, of Bushwick, was arrested in his grandparents’ East New York home three weeks later, after they told police their grandson would surrender, according to prosecutors.

Aponte was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock