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Murder Sentencing

Three men sentenced in murder of security guard

Charles Powell, 28, was ordered 42 years in prison, Musah Coward, 34, was given 45 years in prison, and the third defendant, Brian Castro, 25, was sentenced to 45 years in December.

Lauren Hartley

Apr 16, 2026, 5:57 PM

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Three men have been sentenced in the murder of 58-year-old Rodney Maxwell, a security guard for an illegal gambling den in Brownsville, where he was working when he was shot in October 2020.

Three New Jersey men have been sentenced in the crime. Charles Powell, 28, was ordered 42 years in prison, Musah Coward, 34, was given 45 years in prison, and the third defendant, Brian Castro, 25, was sentenced to 45 years in December.

The three men were carrying out a robbery of the gambling den when Castro and Powell each shot Maxwell, a father of three. Coward, who drove Castro and Powell there, waited outside in the car.

Powell also fired into a crowd of individuals at the location as they desperately attempted to escape the violence. Three additional victims were shot that evening, all of whom survived their wounds.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch thanked the NYPD and FBI for delivering justice in the case.

"The defendants in this case orchestrated an armed robbery that resulted in one man’s death and three other victims being shot,” she said. “They showed a complete disregard for human life, and these sentencings reflect the severity and shocking brutality of their crimes."

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