BROOKLYN, NY — On Friday, a Brooklyn man who had been a lawbreaker for more than seven years was charged with murder in connection with the 2017 shooting death of Justin Hackley, a 20-year-old college student who was on summer vacation.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stated that Dean Boland, 35, was detained by U.S. Marshals in Albany and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. Boland is due back in court on February 3 after being ordered to be jailed without bail.
In 2017, Boland and his 32-year-old brother, Rasheed Boland, were charged with Hackley’s murder during a fight on Ocean Avenue close to Church Avenue. After living under a false identity, Rasheed Boland was caught in Texas in 2019.
Investigators said that the incident started when a woman was harassed by Rasheed Boland, which resulted in a confrontation with her boyfriend. Rasheed is said to have retrieved his brother following the confrontation, and the two of them returned armed to face the group. While attempting to stop his companion from being attacked, Hackley was shot twice.
At Kings County Hospital Center, Hackley was declared deceased. The Boland brothers were connected to the crime by surveillance footage and DNA evidence.
Long-awaited progress in the deadly 2017 Brooklyn shooting is brought about by the detention of a fugitive.
