Ernest Wilson
Defendant allegedly shot victim multiple times in front of his children
Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today that a Peekskill man was arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder for the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Ernest Wilson, of Poughkeepsie.
DA Rocah said: “This ruthless act of gun violence allegedly committed by this defendant took the life of a father in front of his family. My heart is with the victim’s family as my office works to secure justice.”
A Westchester County Grand Jury indicted the defendant, Reginald McClure, 39, for Murder in the Second Degree and four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, all felonies. The defendant was arraigned on July 18 before Judge Maurice Williams in Westchester County Court, and remanded.
On May 21, at approximately 7:32 p.m., the defendant allegedly confronted and chased the victim, while using a 9mm firearm to shoot approximately six rounds, striking the victim twice, in the arm and buttock. The shooting happened after the victim dropped off his child with the child’s mother at their Peekskill home. The child who was dropped off, and another family member inside the home, witnessed the shooting.
The victim was transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he died as a result of his injuries on May 24.
The defendant was apprehended and arrested on May 25 at a hotel in Yonkers, following an investigation by the Peekskill Police Department and the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force. The defendant is also charged with being in possession of two guns at the time of his arrest.
The Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Yonkers Police Department and the New York State Police assisted with the investigation.
The case is before Judge Anne E. Minihan in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Celia Curtis and Annmarie Stepancic, both of the Trials and Investigations Division.
The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
