Man found guilty in 2020 Mount Vernon shooting death over dice playing
A Mount Vernon man who complained one night three years ago about dice playing near his home before pulling out a gun and fatally shooting a man he was arguing with was convicted on Tuesday.
The jury in Westchester County Court found John Bobbitt guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the April 28, 2020, killing of Kashawn "Kanye" Smith, after a day of deliberations following a weeklong trial.
Smith, 28, was sitting on the steps outside a Millington Street apartment building that night, arguing with Bobbitt, when he was shot five times. Bobbitt had been out there for hours complaining about the dice game, which Smith had joined later in the evening.
Assistant District Attorney Lana Hochheiser said in closing arguments Monday that Bobbitt got violent after feeling disrespected.
"That was his block, his neighborhood," she said. "How dare these young men he didn't approve of play dice on his block?"
Anti-violence message:Grieving councilman throws down the gauntlet on gun violence in Mount Vernon
Defense lawyer Angelo MacDonald had argued that the trajectory of the bullets made it uncertain where the shooter had been standing, and suggested that a witness who was nearest to Smith at the time might have been the shooter. He faulted investigators for not testing the clothing for gunshot residue that might have shown the gun was closer than where Bobbitt was said to be standing.
"Science tells us there's reasonable doubt here, it's as simple as that," he said.
He also assailed that witness and another as "disgusting" and "disgraceful" for not calling 911. Both men knew Bobbitt and identified him as the shooter.
"They're not disgusting, ladies and gentlemen; they're brave," Hochheiser said. "And the defendant never banked on that."
Bobbitt had twice gone back to his home then returned, and each time picked up his loud tirade against the men who were playing dice there.
"The victim has the audacity in the face of this defendant (to say) 'Wait til my people come,'" Hochheiser said. "That could not be tolerated and (Bobbitt) took it as a threat ... He's looking to use the gun in his pocket. He's looking to show the neighborhood, 'You can't disrespect me on my block.'"
The gun was never found. Bobbitt was arrested 10 weeks later at a relative's home in Newark.
The killing was one of four fatal shootings in Mount Vernon over a three-week period that spring right after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith was a nephew of City Councilman Derrick Thompson, who railed against gun violence and the need for city residents to help fight it in a speech outside Smith's funeral.
Bobbitt, 45, faces a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 to life. Acting state Supreme Court Judge Robert Neary scheduled sentencing for March 28.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: John Bobbitt convicted of murder in shooting death of Kashawn Smith
