A gang-tied teenager faces attempted murder charges for a shooting in Brooklyn that left a promising teen basketball player with a stray bullet in his spine, prosecutors say — and the wounded hoopster’s mother called the arrest “good news” Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Isaiah Greaves, 19, and a second suspect still at large pointed a gun at and shot 16-year-old Nana Donkor in the back as he waited for a bus near Avenue J and E. 16th St. in Midwood on Nov. 30.
According to a criminal complaint, Nana identified Greaves as one of the assailants.
The wound left Nana uncertain he’ll walk again, though his mother on Tuesday said his prognosis is improving.
“He’s doing very, very well,” Daniella Donkor told the Daily News. “He’s not walking but he can move his legs. He’s not walking yet but he’s in progress,”
She said she hadn’t heard about Greaves’ arrest on Dec. 17, but welcomed it as “good news.”
Greaves, who was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Dec. 18 on attempted murder, assault and weapon possession charges, remains held without bail.
His lawyer, Samuel Karliner, told The News Tuesday that police and prosecutors have the wrong man, and he has alibi evidence to prove it.
“My client has an extremely good and strong alibi for where he was at the time of the shooting. We have been cooperating with the district attorney’s office,” he said. “They are investigating and vetting it…. I have witnesses, as well as video, to support he was somewhere else.”
Nana lives with his family in Far Rockaway, Queens, and goes to the Academy of Medical Technology, a College Board school in the neighborhood. He was shot just two days before his first basketball game of the season.
In an interview with The News earlier this month, he vowed to play hoops again.
“I’m going to make a full recovery,” Nana said from his hospital bed. “I’ve got to be strong. I have a few colleges interested. They want me to come to the school and play basketball for them.”
Recalling the shooting, Nana told The News, “I remember waiting for a bus to get some food…. Someone called me by my name and gave me a high five. Three masked individuals walked by. Shots — there were three or four of them. One hit me. I fell down. It was like in slow motion.”
Greaves, who law enforcement sources say has gang ties, was also arrested last year in connection with another shooting. That victim, a 19-year-old man, said he was shot in the thigh while sitting on a bench on Stagg St. in Williamsburg on April 29, 2024.
Greaves was initially indicted on attempted murder in that case, too, but that charge against him was dismissed, with leave for prosecutors to re-present the charge at a later date. He’s currently charged with possession of a weapon in that case.
