Charles Hernandez Case: East New York Murders, Trial, and Sentence

Charles Hernandez, a 52-year-old from East New York, was sentenced on September 10, 2025, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a Brooklyn triple murder he carried out over seven days in June 2020. He shot and killed three people in East New York, targeting each because of their connection to a man he was feuding with.¹

The Three Killings in East New York

On the morning of June 20, 2020, around 11 a.m., 35-year-old Kenneth Singleton was washing his car near Milford Street and Blake Avenue. Hernandez walked up behind him and shot him multiple times in the head at close range. Singleton was a clothing designer and graffiti artist known by the tag “Foot 4 Mayor,” and a father to a six-year-old son.²

One week later, on June 27, 2020, at about 12:30 p.m., Hernandez put on a blonde wig and a long coat, picked up a high-capacity rifle, and walked to a stoop on Van Siclen Street near Belmont Avenue. Sitting there were 39-year-old Stephanie Perkins and 23-year-old Chioke Thompson. He opened fire, killing both, then stepped over their bodies, entered the home, and fired more shots throughout the first floor before running.¹

Perkins worked at a local pool and recreation center and was a mother to a grown son. Thompson was a warehouse worker and basketball player; his father said he tried to shield Perkins from the gunfire.³

Why He Killed Them

Prosecutors said all three victims were targeted because of their “relationship or proximity to a man with whom the defendant had an ongoing dispute.” That man was not among the dead, was not named publicly, and the DA’s office did not describe the underlying dispute as gang-related or lay out its specifics.¹

Hernandez was not new to the criminal system. He had a 1992 assault conviction and a 2006 weapons conviction, and he was on parole for the weapons offense when the shootings happened.⁴

The Arrest in West Virginia

Surveillance video near the June 27 shootings captured Hernandez in the blonde wig and long coat, carrying an assault-style rifle.⁵ The NYPD and the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force tracked him through associates to Martinsburg, West Virginia, where deputy marshals identified a house on Garden Drive.

On July 9, 2020, at about 2:45 p.m., the West Virginia State Police Special Response Team took him into custody after a brief standoff, with an NYPD hostage negotiator assisting. Hernandez suffered a self-inflicted injury during the arrest and was taken to a local hospital. He was already wanted at that point on a New York parole violation warrant tied to his prior weapons case.⁵

Trial and Verdict

Hernandez was indicted in September 2020 on charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.⁶ His case went to a jury in Brooklyn Supreme Court, where prosecutors leaned heavily on digital and forensic evidence to tie him to both shootings.⁷

On May 21, 2025, the jury convicted him on all counts: one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment. The first-degree murder count reflected the killing of multiple people as part of a common scheme, which under New York law carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole.¹

A co-defendant, 52-year-old Liza Jenkins of East New York, was convicted the next day, May 22, 2025, after a bench trial. She was found guilty of second-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence for helping Hernandez dispose of the clothing he wore during the Singleton killing. Jenkins told the New York Daily News she had been with Hernandez that day but had “no idea he was up to something.”³

The Sentence

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun imposed life without parole on September 10, 2025. He called it “the most heinous act that I’ve seen as a judge” and told Hernandez: “I’ve seen murder after murder after murder after murder. This was in cold blood, that you took three people’s lives. I am absolutely convinced that you cannot be permitted ever to rejoin our society because of your actions.”⁴

Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini told the court that Hernandez “will never abide by society’s rules,” pointing to recorded jail calls in which he repeatedly said he “lives and dies by the streets.” Singleton’s son, Kenyon Gilbert, spoke about growing up without his father. Perkins’ mother, Joann Cleayton, said she was “glad that I will never have to ever run into him again.”⁴

Appeal

At the sentencing, Hernandez said he would appeal, claiming he did not get a fair trial or effective counsel. As of early 2026, no formal appeal had been filed in the public record.⁴

1
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Triple Murder in East New York
2
amNewYork. Brooklyn Clothing Designer and Graffiti Artist Shot to Death While Washing His Car
3
New York Daily News. Brooklyn Man Already Arrested for Double Homicide Charged With Nearby Killing a Week Earlier
4
Yahoo News. Brooklyn Ex-Con Gets Life
5
U.S. Marshals Service. New York Man Wanted in Homicide Arrested by US Marshals Task Force
6
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Brooklyn Man Indicted for Murder of Three Individuals
7
Brooklyn Eagle. Man Sentenced for Triple Murder in East New York