Man Who Opened Fire Outside Of Church Avenue Nightclub Sentenced To 35 Years Behind Bars

A 31-year-old Brownsville man was sentenced to 35 years in prison yesterday for opening fire and striking two victims outside the Temptations nightclub at 2210 Church Avenue, by Flatbush Avenue, on New Year’s Day in 2014, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said today.

Donald Munnerlyn was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the attempted murder of Richard Cannon and 12 years in prison for an assault on Yves Edouard. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Guidice ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

According to trial testimony, Munnerlyn and Cannon got into a fist fight inside Temptations around 4:45am on January 1, 2014, the DA said. The two men were separated by security. At about 5am, Cannon was outside the club with his friends when Munnerlyn walked up to him and fired nine times, striking Cannon once in the abdomen and once in the back, according to the DA. An innocent bystander, Yves Edouard, who was waiting in line to enter the club, was shot twice in the right leg, Thompson said.

The shooting was caught on surveillance footage.

“This defendant could have easily killed someone when he opened fire outside that nightclub,” Thompson said in a press release. “He will now pay a steep price for the mayhem and injuries he caused through his senseless acts of gun violence.””