‘Piece of dirt’: NYC gang members sentenced in 3 murders, including boy’s death

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Brooklyn gang members convicted in multiple murders, including the shooting death of a 1-year-old boy at a cookout in 2020, were sentenced to decades in prison Wednesday, authorities said.

Travis Scott, 36, and Akeem Artis, 27, were both sentenced to 40 years in prison. Dashawn Austin, 28, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The three men are members of the street gang Hoolies that is primarily based in and around the Roosevelt housing development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Austin and Artis were involved in the shooting death of 1-year-old Davell Gardner Jr. at a cookout in Bedford-Stuyvesant on July 12, 2020, authorities said.

Austin fired at a group of people during the cookout while in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by Artis, authorities said. One of the bullets hit Davell. Three other people were also shot.

“Little Davell never got to celebrate his second birthday. My heart breaks for his mother and father and all the families and victims affected by such devastating gun violence,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

In March 2020, Austin also shot and killed alleged gang rival Janile Whitted at Kinanm Lounge on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Scott was convicted of shooting and killing 35-year-old Tyree Walker in December 2018. Walker, who was not a gang rival, was killed as he walked toward his home on Myrtle Avenue, according to authorities. Walker was a father and husband.

“You’re a Hoolie? No, you’re a hoodlum piece of dirt. Bye!” Janice Richardson, Walker’s great aunt, said about her nephew’s killer following the sentencing.

Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here .

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