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Marcus Ricketts, 48, a Jamaican national, was sentenced on Thursday, May 15, in Brooklyn federal court to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to causing death through the use of a firearm, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced.
The sentencing follows a series of armed robberies committed across New York City, including a deadly December 2021 shootout that left a Poughkeepsie man dead and another injured, federal prosecutors said.
According to officials, Ricketts and members of his crew lured the Poughkeepsie victim and a friend—identified as Victim 3 and Victim 4—to an Airbnb in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, posing as marijuana buyers. The victims brought approximately 165 pounds of marijuana to the location for a sale.
While inside the Airbnb, a shootout erupted. Victim 3 was killed, and Victim 4 was shot and wounded. Ricketts and co-defendant Mark Goulbourne fled the scene, with Ricketts carrying both a gun and a large duffle bag of marijuana. He then stole a Citi Bike in an attempt to escape with the drugs, but ultimately fled in a getaway car driven by Jonathan Goulbourne, prosecutors said.
Federal officials said the December 2021 killing marked the culmination of a string of robberies led by Ricketts, who re-entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2019 for a 2014 armed robbery conviction. In total, Ricketts led at least three violent marijuana-related robberies between 2020 and 2021.
Following the murder, crew member Juvanie Crossgill was instructed to return to the crime scene multiple times to retrieve evidence left behind, prosecutors added.
Multiple co-defendants in the case have already been sentenced. Others, including Mark Goulbourne, who is charged in connection with the fatal shooting, are scheduled for trial in June.
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