A Crown Heights man was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was convicted of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and stabbing her new partner, prosecutors said.
Clifton Turner was found guilty by a jury of multiple charges, including first-degree burglary and second-degree assault, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
“Today’s sentence holds the defendant responsible for a brutal and horrifying act of violence that nearly cost an innocent man his life,” Gonzalez said.
According to prosecutors, the incident unfolded in November of 2020, when Turner forcibly entered his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on Pulaski Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Turner was first seen pacing the lobby of the building when the 26-year-old victim, who was dating his former partner, entered with his bike. The defendant followed the victim into the elevator and up to the sixth-floor apartment, where he threatened to kill him. The victim’s girlfriend, 29, managed to pull him inside and leave Turner outside with the bike he had followed into the building.
The following morning, Turner broke into the apartment again, this time forcing his way into the bedroom where the victim and his ex-girlfriend were sleeping. He stabbed the man twice in the arm, severing a vein and brachial artery, before stealing their cellphones. The woman managed to wrestle the knife from Turner and throw it out the window before escaping and calling 911. Police arrived shortly after, arresting Turner as he attempted to flee on the victim’s bike and with the stolen phones.
The victim was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he was resuscitated after becoming pulseless and unresponsive for approximately 10 minutes. He remained hospitalized for four days following the attack.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Roman Galper and Fabian Smallwood, with support from law enforcement and investigative teams.
“Keeping the people of Brooklyn safe is my highest priority,” Gonzalez said. “Violent offenders like this defendant will face serious consequences.”
