Bronx Man Convicted of Murder in Aqueduct Park Shooting

RICARDO FERGUSON, a 38-year-old Bronx man, was convicted today of murder and attempted robbery in connection with the fatal shooting of Robert Brown, Sr. inside Aqueduct Park walkway on December 5, 2021.

FERGUSON, also known as “Maybach,” shot Brown in the head and attempted to steal crack cocaine and money from Brown’s pockets during a dispute over drug sales. The defendant was found guilty following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

“Ricardo Ferguson murdered Robert Brown, Sr. by shooting him in the head in the middle of a New York City park in broad daylight,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “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 the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. In the months leading up to the murder, FERGUSON and his co-conspirators threatened Robert Brown, Sr. because Brown had been selling bags containing larger quantities of crack cocaine than the other dealers in the park.

FERGUSON, 38, of the Bronx, New York, was convicted today of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; attempted Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, which was brandished and discharged, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

FERGUSON is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Berman on October 9, 2024. U.S. Attorney Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, 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 the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic Gentile, Jun Xiang, Mathew Andrews, and Peter Davis are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Ananya Sankar.

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