A Riverhead man with numerous felony convictions was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for weapons possession following a shooting in Riverhead.
On May 20, 2022, Messiah Booker, 38, got into a verbal dispute with a teenager in the parking lot area of an apartment complex in downtown Riverhead. As the argument escalated, Booker threatened to shoot the juvenile, and then briefly entered his black Jeep Compass before returning with a loaded gun in a fanny pack. Booker then began to pull the gun from the fanny pack, causing him to flee for his life.
The victim’s family arrived at the apartment complex shortly thereafter, at approximately 3:50 p.m., and Booker began to argue with them. During the argument, a large crowd gathered in front of the building. Booker went back to his Jeep, retrieved the same loaded firearm from earlier, and shot at one of the people in the crowd. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and struck another victim in the forearm. Booker then fled the scene on foot.
Riverhead Town Police Department officers responded to the scene and located a 9-millimeter shell casing from the shooting. Booker’s Jeep Compass, which was still at the scene, was impounded and a search of its contents was conducted pursuant to a search warrant. During the search, law enforcement recovered drugs including cocaine and morphine, over $1,000 in small denomination bills, four cellular phones, walkie-talkies, a tactical vest, 9 mm ammunition, a digital scale typically used to weigh narcotics, and drug packaging material including glassine envelopes.
Law enforcement tracked Booker’s movements with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, and he was apprehended days later and placed under arrest.
On February 27, 2024, Booker was convicted after a jury trial heard before Acting Supreme Court Judge Anthony S. Senft, Jr. of the following charges:
- two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both Class C violent felonies
- two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell, both Class D felonies
- two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance , both Class A misdemeanors
- one count of criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor
- one count of second-degree menacing, a Class A misdemeanor
Prior to this incident, Booker had five felony convictions, two of which were violent felonies. In particular, Booker was convicted in 2017 of second-degree attempted burglary, a Class D violent felony, for his role in a home-invasion burglary. Booker was released to parole supervision in 2019 and was still on parole for that conviction at the time of this incident.
On February 27, 2024, Justice Senft sentenced Booker to 25 years to life in prison.
“With this sentence, we want the public to know that we are holding perpetrators of violence accountable,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “This happened in broad daylight in the parking lot of an apartment complex full of people. Violence will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”