A Bronx man, Ricardo Ferguson, a/k/a “Maybach,” has been sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman for the Dec. 5, 2021 murder of Robert Brown, Sr. inside Aqueduct Park walkway in the University Heights neighborhood of The Bronx. The news was confirmed by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Williams had announced on June 18 that Ferguson had been convicted of the murder, robbery, and drug charges following a six-day trial in June. “Ricardo Ferguson used violence and intimidation to maintain control over his drug operation,” Williams said. “In furtherance of that drug operation, he executed Robert Brown in a public park, in broad daylight, in front of several witnesses. For this senseless act of violence, Ferguson will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

 

He added, “Today’s sentence fittingly underscores the craven nature of Ferguson’s actions. We will continue to aggressively pursue justice in cases involving such wanton acts of violence. I want to thank our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors from this Office for their tireless efforts in pursuing justice in this case.”

 

As reported at the time, Ferguson shot Brown Sr. in the head during the daylight shooting and attempted to steal crack cocaine and money from Brown’s pockets during a dispute over drug sales.

 

At the time of the announcement of Ferguson’s conviction in June, Williams said, “Ricardo Ferguson murdered Robert Brown, Sr. by shooting him in the head in the middle of a New York City park in broad daylight. Today’s conviction sends an important message to drug dealers who commit violent crimes that they will be apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

 

According to the allegations in the indictment and evidence at trial, Ferguson and others participated in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the vicinity of the Aqueduct Park walkway in University Heights.

The court heard that in the months leading up to the murder, Ferguson and his co-conspirators threatened Brown Sr. because the latter had been selling bags containing larger quantities of crack cocaine than other dealers in the park.

 

On Dec. 5, 2021, Ferguson and a co-conspirator attacked and attempted to rob Brown in the Aqueduct Park walkway. During the attempted robbery, Ferguson pulled out a gun and shot Brown in the head. The victim was 63 years old at the time of the murder.

 

In addition to the prison term, Ferguson was sentenced to 120 months to run consecutive to the sentence of life in prison, and five years of supervised release.

 

Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, the special agents and NYPD Task Force Officers from the Special Investigations Division assigned to the Southern District of New York, and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area analysts.

 

The case is being handled by that office’s violent and organized crime unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic Gentile, Jun Xiang, Mathew Andrews, and Peter Davis are leading the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Ananya Sankar.