A road-raging biker who shot dead a Rikers Island correction officer offered an apology on Thursday — but he got no forgiveness from his victim’s mother.
Gifford Hunter, 31, expressed remorse as he was sentenced in Queens Supreme Court to 23 years in prison for the slaying of Jonathan Narain.
“Nothing I can say can bring back your loved one…. I really am sorry,” Hunter told Narain’s family. “I hope that someday down the line you can forgive me.”
From the gallery, Narain’s mother, Nagamah Narain, responded: “No forgiveness!”
Hunter pleaded guilty in December to first-degree manslaughter for Narain’s Sept. 14, 2018 killing.
Hunter was so enraged that the 27-year-old correction officer cut him off in traffic in South Richmond Hill that he pulled his motorcycle up to Narain’s car at a red light on 103rd Ave. and 120th St., Assistant District Attorney Rachel Buchter said.
The two argued briefly, and Hunter pulled a gun and shot Narain once in the left temple.
Narain’s older brother, Jason Narain, ticked off the milestones of Hunter’s daughter’s life that he would spend behind bars.
“You’re gonna miss a lot of birthdays. You’re gonna miss graduation. Maybe even marriage, who knows? You’re gonna miss it,” said Jason Narain. “You deserve to miss it.”
Outside the courtroom, the head of the correction officers’ union decried the killings of Narain and of Alastasia Bryan, a correction officer who was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend in Brooklyn in 2016. Her killer was sentenced Feb. 5 to 40 years to life in prison.
“It represents closure for the family, but it also represents closure for us,” said Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen. “And we hope that the message gets out that you take the life of a correction officer, you’re going to pay for it.”
With John Annese
