Brooklyn, New York.A Brooklyn man who shot and killed a father defending his teenage daughter during an attempted armed break-in in Crown Heights was sentenced Friday to 18 years to life in prison.
Last month, 33-year-old Waki Bullock was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder for the January 13, 2019, murder of Phillip Scarlett, 43, at the Kingsborough Houses, a NYCHA project in Crown Heights.
Bullock and an alleged accomplice, both disguised and armed, seized the 14-year-old girl in the hallway as Scarlett was expecting her to visit his sixth-floor apartment for laundry money, according to testimony given during the trial. She was pulled to safety inside the apartment by Scarlett, who hurried to her rescue. Scarlett was then shot in the hip and thigh by Bullock and his accomplice after they had carried him down the stairs. At Interfaith Medical Center, Scarlett was declared deceased.
“The severity of the defendant’s actions cannot be overstated, and the lengthy prison term that he has been sentenced to holds him accountable for killing an innocent man in cold blood,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who denounced the violence.
Following the shooting, Bullock ran away to Georgia, but on July 10, 2021, he was apprehended and extradited to Brooklyn.
Rashawn Brown, 28, the suspected co-defendant, is still awaiting trial on counts of attempted burglary, murder, and possession of weapons. On February 6, 2025, he is expected to appear in court again.
