Prison Time After Killing Tenant in Rent Dispute

BROOKLYN (CN) - A New York City landlord got 15 years to life in prison for gunning down a tenant over unpaid rent.

Phillip Estevez, 63, was sentenced Monday for the March 2013 shooting of Luis Martinez, 51.

A jury convicted the East New York landlord last month of shooting Martinez twice in the head and once in the chest after confronting the basement tenant over unpaid rent.

Prosecutors said Estevez had more tenants on the second floor of his single-family house.

After killing Martinez, Estevez went upstairs and hit tenant Ana Rodriguez and her 12-year-old daughter with a pipe.

The girl and her 11-year-old brother jumped out the window and ran to a nearby police station for help.

"This defendant deserves every day he will spend behind bars for his vicious attack on his tenants, killing one over unpaid rent and then terrorizing and assaulting a woman and her two young children," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said.

In addition to finding Estevez guilty of one count of second-degree murder, the jury convicted him on three counts of second-degree assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Kings County Supreme Court Justice Albert Tomei, the uncle of Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei of "My Cousin Vinnie" fame, handed down the sentence Monday.

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