Brooklyn man gets 40 years to life in prison for 2020 fatal shooting at Wyandanch house party

With tears pouring down her face at the sentencing of her son’s killer, LaVerne Thomas called the fatal shooting nearly five years ago a tragic loss of life. “He had a bright future ahead of him,” she said outside of court. “We didn’t know…what he could have accomplished. I just want people to stop the senseless killings.” Prosecutors said Basheer Vinson, 30, of Brooklyn, was at a house party on Patton Avenue in Wyandanch on Aug. 2, 2020 when he fatally shot Mark Birthwright Jr., 26. Police said Birthwright dropped a large roll of cash on the ground moments before the shooting as he and a friend were leaving the party around 2 a.m. Investigators said Birthwright picked the cash up and continued to walk out of the party as Vinson and a second unknown individual approached Birthwright with guns drawn and demanded the money. Birthwright and Vinson struggled before Vinson fired a single shot into his chest. Birthwright’s friend ran back to help him before Vinson shot him in the…..

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