Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the guilty plea of Jiniye Hooks, 19, for fatally shooting 14-year-old Justin Streeter, and injuring a 15-year-old boy in East Harlem.
Hooks pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. He is expected to be sentenced on April 15, 2024, to a promised term of 20 years-to-life in state prison.
“Jiniye Hooks chose to target two boys in a vicious act of violence that tragically took Mr. Streeter’s life too soon,” said District Attorney Bragg. “No family should have to grieve the loss of a child, and my thoughts are with Mr. Streeter’s family as they continue healing from his loss. Combatting gun violence remains a top priority for me, and my office will continue to hold people accountable when they commit these serious acts of violence.”
As admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, and according to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on July 19, 2022, at approximately 4:20 p.m., the two boys exited a deli near East 128th Street and Park Avenue. Hooks, who was approaching the intersection, saw the boys, pulled out a firearm, and began shooting multiple times towards them.
As the boys tried running away, Hooks shot Mr. Streeter in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. Hooks also shot the 15-year-old in his left leg but the boy was able to flee down the block, to the safety of a building lobby. Mr. Streeter was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Hooks immediately fled the scene. He was arrested nearly a week later.
Assistant D.A.s Michael McIntosh and Matthew Sears are handling the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant D.A. David Hammer (Chief of Trial Bureau 70) and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division). Senior Trial Counsel Peter Casolaro and Supervising Major Case Analyst Sasha Hodson provided valuable assistance in this case.
D.A. Bragg thanked the members of the NYPD, in particular, Detectives Edward Stackpole, Michael Jeanbart and Jean Francisco, as well as their fellow members of the Homicide and Shooting Enhancement Team; Police Officer of the City-Wide Community Response Team Racine Otway (formerly of PSA 5), Detective Scott DiBisceglio (Amtrak Police Department); and the detectives and patrol officers of the 25th Precinct.
Photo credit: HWM.
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