Long Beach man pleads guilty to fatal shooting

Antonio Webb faces 20 years in prison for killing Tyrenzo Brown

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A Long Beach man pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on March 6 and faces 20 years in prison.

Antonio Webb, 24, admitted to fatally shooting 28-year-old Tyrenzo Brown during a party outside the Channel Park Homes in September 2014.

“This defendant recklessly shot into a crowd of people and stole the life of an innocent 28-year-old,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a news release. “We hope this plea will help the family of Tyrenzo Brown as they grieve the senseless murder of this young man.”

Webb is due back in Nassau County court on May 17 for sentencing, according to Singas.

Webb’s murder trial began last month when his attorney, Jeff Groder, had maintained his client’s innocence and told jurors that there was no forensic evidence linking Webb to the murder.

“Mr. Webb made a judgment that the evidence against him was overwhelming and he decided to do what was in his best interest,” Groder told the Herald. “He tried to put it behind him.”

The night of the shooting, a group of people were gathered at a tattoo party at the Channel Park Homes when Webb fired several times into a small group of men after an altercation, Singas said.

Webb shot Brown multiple times; he was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from the gunshot wounds.

The shooting was the result of a dispute between Webb and a friend of Brown’s over a woman, according to Singas. Webb fled the scene of the shooting and was arrested a few days later by the Nassau County Police Department.

Brown’s death shook the North Park community, amid a rash of shootings near Channel Park at the time.

Residents, clergy, community leaders and politicians gathered at 500 Centre St. on Oct. 2, 2014, for a rally in response to Brown’s death — hours after Webb was arraigned in Long Beach City Court. Local leaders called for a reaction from a community that they said had been complacent about gun violence for too long.