Syracuse, NY — A Syracuse man was sentenced Monday to at least 20 years and up to life in prison for shooting a man during a high-stakes poker game in 2015.
Charquan Edwards, now 29, had earlier been found guilty of first-degree attempted murder and several other charges by a jury. Each of the other charges will carry a sentence of 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release, but Edwards will serve the sentences concurrently.
Edwards was accused of shooting an 83-year-old man while fleeing a Tallman Street residence with $9,000 in wagers that had been laid out on a table, prosecutor Lauren Phelps told the jury.
The victim, George Smith, has since died of unrelated causes, as have three other witnesses who were there that night. A fifth witness was hospitalized during last week’s retrial in Onondaga County.
Edwards had previously been convicted in a 2015 trial immediately following the shooting. That trial’s verdict was overturned after procedural errors in 2019.
Multiple witnesses, including Smith, who testified in the first trial have died in the nearly six years since the shooting.
State Supreme Court Justice Gordon Cuffy allowed the testimony of those who died after the first trial to be read back for the jury. Much of the most recent trial was spent with someone at the witness stand reading from a transcript from Edwards’ 2015 trial.
Defense lawyer Patrick Hennessy argued that Edwards and Smith fought over Smith’s gun and Edwards gained control of the gun before shooting Smith in self-defense.
In finding Edwards guilty, the jury found for the prosecution’s theory. Edwards became angry after his winning streak had been snapped, grabbed the cash and ran, the prosecution contended. He shot Smith on the way from the Tallman Street home.
In 2015, Edwards was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison by since retired Judge John Brunetti.
Cuffy said to Edwards Monday that he was “one of the few” people who had appeared before him who he believed, had circumstances been different, would have lived a productive life.
“You’re an intelligent young man,” Cuffy said to Edwards. “But I agree with Judge Brunetti’s original sentence.”
Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.