Killer who helped shoot acclaimed NYC wine expert dead is picture of misery in court as his evil behavior finally catches up with him
The man behind the wheel of a drive-by shooting that killed a New York City Michelin star restaurant sommelier is finally facing justice after nearly two years.
Vernard Floranda, 46, was fatally struck in the chest by a stray bullet on October 2, 2024, when what prosecutors described as gang members from the Bronx fired into a crowd from a car being driven by then 19-year-old Jeremiah Bascombe.
Floranda, a sommelier at the ritzy Michelin star restaurant Café Boulud on the Upper East Side, was waiting to cross the street just one block away from his apartment at the time of the shooting shortly after 12am.
Bascombe and two accomplices, then-18-year-old Jason Texeira and a 17-year-old, whose name was not released at the time because he was a minor, were arrested two weeks later and slapped with murder, conspiracy and weapons possession charges.
On Tuesday, shortly after 11.30am, now-21-year-old Bascombe dejectedly entered a downtown Manhattan courtroom with hand coverings cuffed to his waist as he prepared to admit to killing Floranda.
Minutes before his appearance in front of Judge Ann Scherzer, eight officers with the New York State Courts Special Response Team (NYSC-SRT) donning ballistic vests filled the courtroom, drawing murmurs from those in the gallery.
After the killer sat down, his defense attorney announced his client’s intention to withdraw a not guilty plea to his earlier charges and plead guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter.
Judge Scherzer asked Bascombe to raise his right hand while swearing that he was voluntarily pleading guilty to killing Floranda. The young man lifted his hand as far as the chains cuffed to his waist allowed.
Jeremiah Bascombe, 21, dejectedly entered a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday as he prepared to plead guilty to killing 46-year-old Vernard Floranda in October 2024
Bascombe was behind the wheel in a drive-by shooting that killed Floranda. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in New York on Tuesday
Bascombe is pictured raising his cuffed and covered right hand as he admitted to killing Floranda. The judge said she plans to sentence him to 15 years in prison
Floranda was waiting to cross the street just one block away from his apartment at the time of the shooting shortly after 12am on October 2, 2024
Bascombe repeatedly answered ‘yes’ in a despondent tone to a series of questions from the judge ensuring that he understood the rights he was waiving by pleading guilty.
Scherzer explained that she will be sentencing the 21-year-old to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. She scheduled his formal sentencing hearing for November 17.
Bascombe leaned back in his chair with his head tilted as the weight of the sentence appeared to dawn on him.
After the young killer was escorted out of court, the NYSC-SRT officers who had filled the room followed him out.
His now-20-year-old alleged accomplice, Jason Texeira, is scheduled to go to trial on October 13 for second-degree murder, conspiracy and weapons possession charges Texeira pleaded not guilty to, according to court records.
The plea entered by the then-minor accomplice who was not named at the time of the trio’s arrest is unclear.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the court for additional details and to request the identity of the third person allegedly involved in Floranda’s killing, as he is now an adult.
During Bascombe’s initial hearing on October 17, 2024, the Daily News reported that prosecutors said of Floranda: ‘One of the bullets struck an innocent bystander who was waiting to cross the street to walk to his home at night.’
Floranda was a sommelier at the Upper East Side Michelin star restaurant Café Boulud. He had been living in New York City for just two years before he was killed
Floranda had previously worked at another Michelin star restaurant in New York City, Gramercy Tavern. The interior of Café Boulud is pictured
Floranda’s mother said her son had dreams of opening his own wine bar and loved plants and gardening. The interior of Café Boulud is pictured
‘That bullet hit his chest and caused his almost immediate death. Another bullet hit another apparently uninvolved bystander in the ankle,’ prosecutors added.
The sommelier’s mother, Violet Floranda, 73, told the outlet that she ‘was crying and screaming for four days… He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
She said that her son had been living in New York City for just two years at the time he was killed.
Before working at Café Boulud, Floranda had also worked as a sommelier at another Michelin star New York City restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, as well as several high-end establishments in Las Vegas and San Francisco, according to his LinkedIn.
Floranda had dreams of opening his own wine bar and loved plants and gardening, his mother told the Daily News in 2024.
Prosecutors that year said Bascombe and his alleged accomplices were arrested after detectives used exhaustive surveillance video evidence to trace their movements on the night of the killing.
Bascombe was arrested after detectives used extensive surveillance footage to track his movements on the night of the shooting. He is pictured in court on Tuesday
Bascombe has been behind bars since he was arrested on October 16, 2024. He is pictured being escorted out of court on Tuesday
The footage showed Bascombe leaving his home in the Bronx, getting into the car involved in the shooting and picking up the other two teens who allegedly killed Floranda, prosecutors said.
Bascombe then drove to uptown Manhattan to commit the shooting, fled to Yonkers then drove back to the Bronx and parked the car before swapping to another vehicle in his name.
He then drove to Midtown Manhattan before eventually returning home in the Bronx. The killer has been behind bars since he was arrested two weeks later.
