Brooklyn man charged in 2020 murder and robbery after Wyandanch party

A Brooklyn man was indicted Thursday in Suffolk County Court for the 2020 murder and attempted robbery of a man in Wyandanch, the Suffolk District Attorney said. 

Basheer Vinson, 28, of Farragut Road, in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, faces charges of murder, attempted murder, attempted robbery, attempted assault, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the death of a Bay Shore man, Mark Birthwright, 26, after an Aug. 2, 2020 house party. 

District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement that Vinson’s “alleged attempt to rob the victim as he was leaving a party with friends ended in a senseless tragedy … This individual will now have to face the consequences of his actions.”

Vinsun pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, said his lawyer, John Halverson. “We plan on fighting these charges,” Halverson said. Judge Timothy P. Mazzei ordered Vinson held without bail.

According to a news release from Tierney’s office, Vinsun demanded money from Birthwright shortly after 2 a.m. when Birthwright left a party at a Patton Avenue, Wyandanch home. After a scuffle, Vinson shot Birthwright in the chest with a handgun. When one of Birthwright’s friends ran toward Birthwright, Vinson shot the friend too, before running away without getting any money. 

Birthwright was pronounced dead at the scene. His friend, shot in the torso, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. A man who was with Vinson when they approached Birthwright has not been arrested, according to the release, which did not identify the man. 

Authorities recovered Vinson’s DNA from his baseball cap, knocked off during the scuffle, and from a spent shell casing recovered at the scene, according to the release. 

Vinson was arrested Oct. 4. He is due back in court Nov. 22.