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Messiah Booker, age 38, of Riverhead, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
It came after a jury found him guilty on more than a half dozen counts in connection with a broad daylight shooting at Riverhead’s Riverpointe Apartments in May 2022.
According to prosecutors, Booker got into an argument with a teenager in the parking lot of the East Main Street complex on May 20, 2022. As the argument escalated, he threatened to shoot the teen.
He then removed a fanny pack from his Jeep that contained a loaded gun. As he removed the weapon from the bag, the teen took off running.
A short time later, the teen’s relatives arrived at the complex and Booker began to argue with them. The scene soon attracted a large crowd of onlookers who gathered in front of the building.
Prosecutors said Booker again went to his Jeep and grabbed the same gun before firing at one of the people gathered. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and struck another victim in the arm.
Booker took off running from the scene. He was arrested days later by the US Marshals Service.
When Riverhead Town Police searched his Jeep, they found cocaine and morphine, 9mm ammunition, walkie-talkies, and a tactical vest. They also recovered a digital scale, drug packaging material, four cell phones, and over $1,000 in cash.
On Tuesday, Feb. 27, jurors found Booker guilty of the following charges:
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon (felonies)
- Four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance (felonies and misdemeanors)
- Criminally using drug paraphernalia (misdemeanor)
- Menacing (misdemeanor)
At the time of the shooting, Booker was on parole following a 2017 conviction for attempted burglary for his role in a home-invasion burglary.
Records show he was previously convicted of five felonies, two of them violent felonies.
“With this sentence, we want the public to know that we are holding perpetrators of violence accountable,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
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