A Bronx man will spend 18 years to life in prison for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend’s partner during a 2021 home invasion in Dyker Heights.
Adam Thomas, 33, was sentenced Wednesday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Warin, having previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan. 9.
“This defendant broke into a family’s home in the middle of the night, murdered an innocent man in cold blood and terrorized a mother and her young daughter at gunpoint,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said while announcing the sentencing. “With today’s sentence, he has now been held accountable for his horrifying actions.”
According to prosecutors in the case, Thomas broke into his ex-girlfriend’s 83rd Street home through the front window on Dec. 18, 2021, at approximately 12:16 a.m.
Once inside, Thomas, who was wearing a black ski mask, encountered Justin Moncada, 30, in the hallway. Moncada and Thomas briefly fought in the bedroom doorway before Moncada managed to shut the door behind him.
Thomas then fired 16 times through the door with a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun. He struck Moncada once in the head, killing him.
The Bronx man fled through the open window while his ex-girlfriend called the police. But before authorities arrived, Thomas returned and pointed the gun at her and the six-year-old daughter she shared with Moncada. He then demanded she turn over her cellphone and purse while screaming, “You chose him! You made me do this!”
Cops arrived on the scene and arrested Thomas as he attempted to climb back through the window.
