Man Who Slayed Muslim Cleric And Associate Gets Life In Prison

OZONE PARK, QUEENS -- A Brooklyn man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for slaying a Muslim cleric and his assistant in a broad daylight shooting in Queens.

Oscar Morel, 37, of Brownsville, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday for gunning down the two men in Ozone Park in August 2016. A Queens jury found Morel guilty of the cold-blooded execution after a weeks-long trial in March.

Morel showed "not an ounce of sympathy or respect for human life" when he gunned down Imam Maulana Akonjee, 55 and his 64-year-old associate Thara Uddin on their way home from prayer at the Al-furqan Jame Masjid Mosque, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

"The cowardly actions of this defendant did not just take the life of two admired men, but the killings ripped at the heart of the Muslim community - our community," Brown said.

"It is my hope that today’s conclusion to this case brings some closure and comfort to the many family and friends of the victims.”

Akonjee and Uddin were walking down Liberty Avenue near 79th Street on Aug. 13, 2016 at about 2 p.m. when Morel walked up behind them, pointed a .38 caliber revolver at their heads and opened fire, prosecutors said.

The imam took four bullets to his head and body and his friend was shot once in the head. Both men later died at a nearby hospital.

Morel was caught on tape climbing out of a black SUV near the scene before walking and then suddenly running toward the off-camera pair, court records state. He is seen again moments later running back to his vehicle and fleeing the area.

Authorities later found a .38 caliber revolver hidden behind a kitchen wall in Morel's apartment, which forensic analysts matched to the bullets that killed the two men, Brown said.

Morel was convicted on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

(Lead photo via Shutterstock)