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Jamaica man gets 40-year sentence in 1998 murder

By Betsy Scheinbart

A Jamaica man was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison Friday for his role in the 1998 shooting death of two men in South Ozone Park that stemmed from an argument over drug dealing, the Queens district attorney said.

Kipp Williams, 32, of 109-53 Union Hall St. in Jamaica, was convicted by a jury trial Dec. 13 of two counts of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees in an Aug. 19, 1998 shooting that left two men dead, District Attorney Richard Brown said.

State Supreme Court Judge Mark Spires sentenced Williams to 40 years to life in jail at the Kew Gardens courthouse Friday.

“The long prison sentence appropriately punishes the defendant for having violently ended two lives by gunfire and ensures that he will never again have an opportunity to endanger other lives,” the DA said.

The shooting occurred after Williams and two others were involved in an argument with three men about drug dealing in South Ozone Park, Brown said.

One of the other two charged, Robert Blount, 25, of 117-56 123rd St. in South Jamaica, who was identified by Brown as “the shooter,” pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder on Oct. 12, 1999, Brown said. Blount was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, Brown said.

The third perpetrator, Lamont Jones, 31, of 1688 Pine Grove Blvd. in Bay Shore, L.I., pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and was expected to be sentenced this month to up to three years in prison, Brown said.

According to trial testimony, the events of Aug. 18, 1998 unfolded in this manner:

First, one of the homicide victims, Herman Blades, and an eyewitness to the shooting were threatened by Williams about their possible drug dealing in the area of 125th Street and Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park, Brown said.

Williams was looking for the second shooting victim, Leroy Adison, for the same reason, the DA said.

Minutes later, Williams, Blount and Jones again confronted and threatened Blades, Adison and the eyewitness at 135th Street and Rockaway Boulevard, Brown said.

As Williams and Jones stopped Adison from fleeing the scene, Blount shot Blades, causing his death, the Queens district attorney said.

Adison was subsequently shot in the face and killed, Brown said.

Williams then drove Jones and Blount away from the scene and later fled to Ohio, where he was apprehended by the state’s authorities on unrelated drug charges and returned to New York, Brown said.

Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.