Controversy surrounds a Bronx judge who recently sentenced a former NYPD sergeant to a minimum of three years in prison. This same judge once offered a lenient plea deal to an alleged gang member involved in the fatal beating of a homeless man.
In 2018, Justice Guy Mitchell sparked debate with a decision that resulted in only a nine-month sentence for 19-year-old Branlee Gonzalez. Gonzalez had pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and attempted assault, as previously reported by The Post.
Currently, Mitchell is under scrutiny again for sentencing ex-NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran to a term of three to nine years. Duran was convicted of manslaughter after fatally striking Eric Duprey, a drug suspect fleeing on a moped, with a picnic cooler in August 2023.
The sentence imposed on Duran, 38, reflects the charge of manslaughter, which carries penalties ranging from probation to a maximum of 15 years in prison.
In the earlier contentious case, Mitchell, who was serving on the Manhattan Supreme Court bench at the time, initially considered a sentence with no jail time for Gonzalez. However, he altered his decision on the same day that The Post began its coverage of the case.
Gonzalez had viciously attacked 69-year-old Lucio Bravo on May 18, 2017, following accusations that Bravo had catcalled a relative in Washington Heights. The attack left Bravo in a coma, while another victim sustained minor injuries.
Manhattan prosecutors had called on Gonzalez to get at least 10 years, alleging he was a member of the “Gorilla Stones” gang.
The victim’s grieving daughter also demanded a stiff prison term.
“Yes, I believe in second chances but I also believe the defendant must learn that all actions have consequences,” she wrote to the judge in a letter.
Mitchell at first told Gonzalez he’d likely get no jail time if he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and stayed out of trouble. But the judge then reversed course and put forward a sentence of 1 ¹/₃ to four years in prison — which would see the teen locked up for at least nine months, The Post reported at the time.
Gonzalez’s lawyer, Luis Diaz, had argued his client deserved leniency because he had miserable childhood, including sexual abuse by a family member.
In the recent manslaughter trial, Mitchell, now a Bronx judge, disagreed with Duran’s lawyers’ argument that the cop had chucked the cooler at Duprey to save other officers’ lives in a chaotic moment.
He justified the sentence, in part, by saying it would serve as a “general deterrent” for other police officers.
“The distinction is that the deceased will no longer be seen again by his family,” Mitchell said at Duran’s sentencing hearing.
