One of two men convicted in the shooting death of a security guard outside an East Village homeless shelter was sentenced Friday to 81 years to life in state prison.
Johnny Lee Hill, 44, was convicted of second-degree murder for the Dec. 28, 2019, killing of Ernest Lee Buchanan, a 44-year-old guard at the Alpha Project tent shelter on Imperial Avenue.
Co-defendant Floyd Garrett, 51, who represented himself at trial, was also convicted of second-degree murder and is slated to be sentenced next month.
A motive for the killing was not disclosed, but prosecutors alleged surveillance footage and “smart streetlight” cameras captured the men waiting for Buchanan to arrive from a meal break, then both men opened fire on him in the street around 7:30 p.m.
Buchanan later died at a hospital.
At trial, Hill testified that he fired in self-defense because Buchanan pointed a gun at him, while prosecutors said Buchanan was unarmed and didn’t confront or provoke the men.
Both men were arrested about a week after the shooting.
Along with murder, Hill was sentenced for assault with a semi- automatic firearm, numerous firearm-related allegations, and his sentences were doubled due to a prior 2010 strike conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.
