FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Defendant Sentenced to 25 Years to Life in Prison for
Fatal Shooting of Stranger near Barclays Center

Victim was Shot Six Times in Busy Intersection following Dispute

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the shooting death of a Staten Island man following a verbal dispute near the Barclays Center in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "Today's sentence holds this defendant accountable for this incredibly callous shooting of an innocent man. Steven Vargas was a beloved brother and uncle who was violently and senselessly taken from his family and friends. And while gun violence is currently at record lows in Brooklyn thanks to the dedicated focus of law enforcement, my thoughts are with Mr. Vargas' loved ones today as they continue to deal with this profound loss."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Matthew Passaro, 53. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 25 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder on November 18, 2025 following a jury trial.

The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on September 20, 2017, the defendant was walking on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. He came upon the victim, 47-year-old Stephen Vargas, whom he didn't know, standing on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Fourth Avenue, and started yelling at him.

After exchanging words with the victim, the defendant walked about a block and a half, changed his clothes, then returned to where the victim was standing, in the vicinity of Fourth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue and, at about 8:15 p.m., shot him multiple times outside 578 Atlantic Avenue, killing him, according to trial testimony. The evidence showed that the defendant fired seven times, striking the victim six times about his body, including his spine, liver, kidneys, lungs, and heart, instantly killing him.

The defendant fled and was arrested on November 1, 2017 inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. A loaded .45-caliber pistol was recovered from the defendant. A microscopic analysis of the recovered gun and ballistic evidence from the scene of the shooting determined that this was the same gun used to kill Vargas.

Following his arrest, according to trial testimony, the defendant admitted to police that he killed the victim.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jhounelle Cunningham, of the District Attorney's Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin Kinsella, of the District Attorney's Blue Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicde Bureau Chief.

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