The Harlem brute convicted of murdering high school basketball star Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life as an emotional Manhattan judge blasted the killing as an “utterly senseless” crime.
Robert Cartagena, 23, “clearly earned” the stiff sentence when he gunned down Murphy, 18, during a violent feud between rivals of two West Harlem housing projects in September 2011, said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber.
“I am crystal clear that the responsibility of what happened was on Mr. Cartagena” and his co-defendant Tyshawn Brockington, 24, Farber said.
Both men stormed into the Grant Houses, where Murphy lived, that night looking for revenge following a dispute with youths from the nearby Manhattanville Houses.
Murphy, one of the country’s top young point guards and a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School in Lower Manhattan, had been dancing with friends and family in a courtyard when Brockington and Cartagena chased her up four flights of stairs in the apartment building and pumped three bullets into her.
“There is no fault in anyone staying out til 3 a.m. dancing,” Farber said, his voice wavering.
More than a dozen of the beloved teen’s family members filled the courtroom, dabbing tears from their eyes as Murphy’s dad, Taylonn Murphy, skewered Cartagena as a coward.
“To kill somebody — what sense of bravado is that? You don’t get no point or accolades for that,” the father told the court as his eyes locked with Cartagena’s. “Anything you got here you definitely earned.”
Brockington was convicted by a jury in June and sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison for the murder. A jury found Cartagena guilty on April 1.
The married father of four young daughters spoke briefly before his sentencing Wednesday.
“I just want you to know that I didn’t order or have no say in the steps. I have kids myself and I would never do nothing to a female. I send my condolences. Everyone out there, have a good life,” Cartagena said.
Outside the courtroom, Cartagena’s mother claimed her son was innocent, painting him as a loving father.
“My son is being charged with a crime he didn’t commit. Yes, he was there (that night) but he wasn’t the shooter,” said Denise Cartagena, her eyes filling with tears.
His lawyer plans to appeal.