The leader of a much-feared gang draws a 25-year sentence.
Leonard McKenzie, a founding member of the East Coast Bloods and one of Brooklyn's most feared gang leaders, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison yesterday for shooting a man in a bodega.
The man with a long history of violence was escorted into the court yesterday by five guards.His defense table was covered with a handcuff key and a razor blade.Mr. Deadeye was kept in handcuffs.
A burly man with a shiny bald pate nodded silently to two women and a man sitting at the back of the court.Touron Powell, the young mailroom clerk who went head to head with Mr. McKenzie one May night last year, had fallen asleep on the No.He missed his normal subway stop and decided to walk back to Crown Heights.
The police said that Mr. Powell was shot in the thighs by a man who didn't like the way the victim was looking at him.Mr. Powell was sitting in the front row of the spectator section waiting for his chance to speak at the sentencing.He didn't know if his legs would ever feel normal, but he was going to think positive.
He was going to be heard by Justice Starkey.I would like to ask you one thing.Why did you shoot me?He said, ''Anything that makes you so angry, may God have mercy.''
Ned Fox, an assistant district attorney, said that Mr. McKenzie was one of the most evil human beings he had ever met.