City Youth Who Shot Fleeing Robbery Victim Sentenced to 14 Years

A city man who robbed a phone company worker at gunpoint and then shot him in the back as he tried to flee was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

Isaiah Brinson, 18, was charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a handgun and attempted murder for the crime, which Brinson committed when he was just 16 years old.

On March 28, 2011, Brinson walked up to the Verizon worker as he climbed down from a telephone pole on Montrose Terrace in Irvington, then pulled a gun and said, “You know what time it is.” After the worker tossed his wallet to Brinson and turned to run, Brison shot twice, hitting the victim once in the back.

Brinson, who plead guilty to the crimes in August, is required to serve 85 percent of his 14-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA). Sentencing was postponed to give Brinson the chance to obtain his G.E.D. while being housed at the Essex County’s Youth Detention Center.