Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that an East New York man has been arraigned on two indictments charging him with first-degree murder and related charges for two separate incidents in June in which he allegedly shot and killed three people.
Charles Hernandez, 47, of East New York was arraigned today and last week before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on two indictments in which he is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment.
He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on October 22, 2020. The defendant faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
“This defendant allegedly went on a murderous crime spree, ruthlessly killing two men and a woman over the course of a week. The defendant allegedly brazenly shot them in broad daylight. We will now seek to bring him to justice. My condolences go out to the families who lost their loved ones to this nonsensical gun violence,” said Gonzalez.
Additionally, the District Attorney said that Liza Jenkins, 47, of East New York, was arraigned last week on an indictment charging her with second-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence for allegedly helping Hernandez get rid of the clothing he allegedly wore during the June 20, 2020 homicide. She was released without bail and ordered to return to court on October 22.
Gonzalez said that, according to the investigation, at about 11 a.m., June 20, 2020, outside of his home in the vicinity of Milford Street and Blake Avenue, in East New York, Kenneth Singleton, 35, was washing his car when the defendant allegedly approached Singleton from behind and shot and killed him.
Furthermore, it is alleged, that at about 12:30 p.m., June 27, 2020, Stephanie Perkins, 39, and Chioke Thompson, 23, were sitting on a stoop on Van Siclen Street, near Belmont Avenue, in East New York, when the defendant allegedly approached them and opened fire, shooting and killing both victims. The defendant was allegedly wearing a blond wig, a long coat and carrying an assault rifle.
He was apprehended on July 9, 2020 in West Virginia by the Regional Fugitive Task Force.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Howard Jackson, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.
