Brooklynite convicted of ‘ridiculous’ fatal shooting in Astoria

By Jonathan Sperling

A Brooklyn man who shot another man to death on an Astoria street for insulting two of his female friends was convicted of manslaughter charges, Queens prosecutors announced.

Santiago Salcedo, 27, was convicted for shooting Qsaun Brown to death on Steinway Street in July 2016 after Brown made a derogatory remark toward two women who were bar-hopping with Salcedo.

Salcedo encountered Brown just after 4 a.m. while walking along Steinway Street with three friends, a man and two women. As the group passed Brown and a friend, the two made derogatory remarks toward the two women in the group in front of Salcedo, according to prosecutors. One of the women then turned to Salcedo and said, “Are you just going to let them disrespect us like that?”

Prosecutors said Salcedo and his male friend went to their car, returned and confronted Brown. The argument escalated and Brown ran to his own car and drove back to Salcedo. He exited his vehicle and — unarmed — confront Salcedo and his friend.

It was at that moment, prosecutors said, that Salcedo took a gun from his friend and shot at Brown and his friend five times, striking Brown once in the neck. Brown was rushed to the hospital, where he died two days later. 

Queens Supreme Court Justice Ronald Hollie set sentencing for Jan. 23, 2020. Salcedo faces up to 25 years in prison.

Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan referred to the shooting as a “ridiculous act of violence” that seemed preventable.

“An early morning derogatory remark started a chain of events that resulted in one man losing his life and now this defendant could spend the next couple of decades locked behind bars over foolish words,” Ryan said. “Getting a gun is never the right answer to settle a dispute.”