Providence man gets double life sentence in drive-by murder of Warwick woman, 24
PROVIDENCE – A Providence man has been handed two life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison for a drive-by shooting that killed a 24-year-old Warwick woman who was talking to a friend on a Providence street, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said.
Isaiah Pinkerton, 26, was sentenced Friday following his June conviction for murder and nine other felony charges in the death of Miya Brophy-Baermann, a University of Rhode Island graduate who worked as a speech-language pathologist.
Brophy-Baermann was shot on Aug. 21, 2021, a Sunday morning, while she was standing along Olney Street talking with Sheron Robinson. She had earlier attended a party nearby. Police said previously they didn't believe she was the shooter's intended target.
The case seemed cold for more than a year
For more than a year, no one was arrested in the murder, but on Aug. 24, 2022, Pinkerton and another Providence man, Shawn Mann, were charged by secret indictment. Mann, 32, still faces trial.
"It has been more than two years since Miya lost her life, and while we are painfully aware that nothing can return her to her family and friends, I hope today’s significant sentence brings some semblance of peace to everyone impacted by this unnecessary and tragic loss," Neronha said in a press releasing announcing the sentence.
"I am grateful to the Providence Police Department for their outstanding work and partnership during the investigation and prosecution of this complex case," he said.
Here's how the police solved the murder
Investigators were able to link Pinkerton to the murder after recovering the weapon, a ghost gun, and getting a sample of his DNA.
According to Neronha, investigators obtained surveillance footage showing someone from a dark-colored sedan shooting at Brophy-Baermann and Robinson then driving away. Investigators also recovered two 9mm cartridge cases in the road and one fragmented bullet from Brophy-Baermann's car, which were sent to the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory for analysis, Neronha said.
On Dec. 12, 2021, Providence police made a routine motor vehicle stop of a Hyundai Elantra, in which Pinkerton was a passenger, Neronha said. Officers found a backpack that had been thrown from the car before it was stopped; inside was a ghost gun, so-called because they don't have serial numbers. Pinkerton was brought to the police station where he consented to a buccal swab to obtain his DNA, Neronha said.
Investigators ran the gun through the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) database, which indicated that the gun was a possible match to the gun used in Brophy-Baermann's shooting, Neronha said. Further analysis confirmed the findings and that the spent casings from the shooting scene had been expelled from the gun, he said.
Before sending the gun for analysis, investigators took swabs of the gun for DNA analysis, Neronha said. The swabs confirmed the presence of the Pinkerton's DNA on the gun, magazine, and the backpack it was found in, he said.
Here are details on the sentencing
Pinkerton was convicted after a nine-day jury trial. He was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of possession of a ghost gun and assault with intent to commit murder, among other charges.
In imposing the double life sentences Friday, Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause added a 50-year sentence, ordering that Pinkerton serve the first 10 of which before parole eligibility. He also added a 10-year suspended sentence to follow.
Neronha and Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez expressed gratitude for the work of police investigators, including Detective Sgt. Timothy McGann and Detective Theodore Michael, who led the investigation, as well as prosecutors Stephen Dambruch and Alison Bittl.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence man gets double life sentence in murder of bystander
