A Jamaica man convicted in November of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child to death in 2008—and allegedly involved in the 1992 slaying of a Rego Park man—was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison.
On Nov. 3, Derrick Redd, 38, who was listed as living on 166th Street in Jamaica, was found guilty of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and abortion in the Oct. 2008 stabbing of Naisha Delain, 25, of South Ozone Park, who was a customer service attendant at Capital One Bank in Far Rockaway.
Police said Delain was stabbed about 20 to 30 times in her stomach and torso inside her apart- ment on Oct. 25, 2008, the date their child—whom she had carried for nine months—was expected to be born.
At Redd’s sentencing on Wednesday, his lawyer, Barry Krinsky, motioned to dismiss the jury’s verdict by saying that the evidence was entirely circumstantial and didn’t prove beyond doubt that his client committed the murder. Krinsky also submitted four one-page letters from Redd’s family members that he said spoke positively of Redd’s character. He then read a statement from Redd offering an apology.
Eugene Reibstein, who represented Delain’s family in the case, said that those letters do not prove that Redd has good character and that this is the first time the family has heard him offer an apology. He encouraged Supreme Court Justice Daniel Lewis, who presided over the case, to sentence Redd to “every single day that the law allows.”
After Judge Lewis rejected the motion, Krinsky asked the court to be lenient as possible when sentencing Redd. Then Redd had his chance to speak, saying that he did not commit the crimes he was accused of: “First and foremost, my condolences,” he said. “I stand here an innocent man.”
Redd then added that police treated him unfairly when they arrested him and he was unaware of why he was being arrested in the first place. Redd said that after he rejected the police’s offer for a meal, they just left him in his cell. He then reiterated his innocence. “It’s sad that you’re sentencing an innocent man today,” Redd said.
Judge Lewis then sentenced Redd to 25 years-to-life in prison for second-degree murder, eight years for murder of an unborn fetus and one year for gun possession.
After the sentencing, Delain’s family could be heard screaming “We have our justice!” as they clapped in unison.
For Darnell Wimms, Delain’s father, he’s just happy it’s over. “I feel relived, just so happy,” he said. He added that it took a very long time to decide on this case and he’s glad a verdict has been reached. “I just feel a lot of stress come off of me. It’s not going to bring her back, but at least this guy won’t be hurting other people,” he said.
Charlene Wimms, Delain’s aunt, felt the same.
“I’m glad this is over,” she said. “It won’t bring her back, but we do have justice.”
Of the man convicted of killing her niece, Charlene said, “He means nothing to me.”
According to various media reports and confirmed by the Queens District Attorney’s office, Redd was also tried for the Nov. 1992 shooting death of Carlos Sarmiento, 52, inside his apartment building in Rego Park.
After Sarmiento, an Ecuadorian immigrant who worked as a diamond cutter and a taxi driver, was shot in his apartment, prosecutors at the 1992 trial
alleged that Redd stole money from Sarmiento’s pockets and used it to treat himself and friends to Chinese food, according to The Daily News.
However, a Queens jury acquitted Redd after witnesses, who told police that they saw Redd on the night of the shooting, refused to testify, reports stated.
Regarding Sarmiento’s death, the district attorney’s office told The Forum Tuesday that as the trial was concluded, court records regarding that case were sealed, and details were not available to the public.
Delian’s mother, Towanda Wimms , has reportedly been pushing to have Redd charged with two murders—one of her daughter and one of her unborn child, who would have been named Aidan, and has sided with pro-life groups in an Albany debate over a bill that would charge individuals who kill pregnant women with two murders.
According to The Wave, a newspaper in Rockaway, an unidentified woman who says she is the mother of Redd’s 28-month-old son defended Redd, stating that he was innocent of the crime. The woman told The Wave that she had known Redd since 1999 and the man she knew could not have committed murder.
“Derrick is not like that. He respects women, he respects his mother. He loves children and is a good family man to his son. He is not the person painted by the papers and the DA,” the woman told The Wave.
In response, Winns told The Wave that the unnamed woman lied, adding, “my family has been through enough and we don’t have time to go back and forth with her nonsense.”
Sarmiento’s daughter, Jacqueline Sarmiento-Marzan, also criticized Redd’s unnamed girlfriend, saying she was “appalled,” and her comments were “sad and abusive to Naisha’s family.”
Attempts to contact Sarmiento-Marzan for comment were not returned by press time.
Capital One Bank officials at the branch where Delain worked declined to comment on the matter.
By Jean-Paul Salamanca
