A jury in New York has convicted a 45-year-old man of second-degree murder after he shot and killed his “longtime friend” on Long Island while repeatedly yelling “you wanna die?”
When James Brown, 45, is sentenced on June 16, he faces 40 years to life in prison for the murder of Umar Elquhir, 45, according to a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Cops received several 911 calls around 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2023, about a man later identified as Elquhir on the ground, apparently suffering from gunshot wounds, on the Poospatuck Reservation near Mastic. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators discovered that the shooting occurred near Brown’s home. Brown and Elquhir were involved in a fistfight earlier that night, according to surveillance footage from a smoke shop across the street. Elquhir left, but returned in his car about two hours later, parking outside Brown’s house.
“When Brown came out of the home, he walked toward the victim’s car while repeatedly yelling, ‘You wanna die?’ before firing approximately nine shots into the vehicle,” according to the prosecution.
Several bullets struck Elquhir. He got out of his car and collapsed on the ground. Brown, meanwhile, returned to his home. Cops took Brown’s palm print from the scene.
Brown testified at trial that he was afraid for his life and fired in self-defense. In addition to murder, the jury convicted him of two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was convicted of assault with a loaded weapon in 2012 and sentenced to five years in prison.
“This previously convicted felon killed his longtime friend by shooting him multiple times,” District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement. “I want to thank the jury for their attention to this case. We will seek a sentence that ensures defendant Brown can no longer harm other Suffolk County residents.”
