Two men sentenced in 2019 murder of 19-year-old bystander near Providence nightclub

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Two men convicted in the 2019 Providence murder of a 19-year-old woman were sentenced in Providence Superior Court Monday, according to the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

Johnny Veng, 35, and Marklyn Brown, 31, were both sentenced to double life in prison with a consecutive sentence of 80 years to serve following their March 21 convictions for first-degree murder among numerous other charges.

Veng is currently serving a separate nine-year sentence for a firearms conviction.

Both defendants were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of first-degree murder, one count of discharging a firearm resulting in death, one count of assault with dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of discharging a firearm resulting in injury, two counts of carrying a pistol without a license and one count of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a violent crime.

The convictions stem from an early morning September 29, 2019 incident on Detroit Avenue where police responded to a report of gunshots.

Arriving officers discovered two shooting victims, Berta Pereira-Roldan and Crystal Peloquin, both of whom had just exited Club Noah on Broad Street.

Pereira-Roldan, who traveled from Revere, Mass. to celebrate her birthday, was pronounced deceased at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

Peloquin also sustained several gunshot wounds and was transported to Rhode Hospital in serious condition.

Police stated that neither victim were intended targets in the shooting.

Surveillance video and witness testimony revealed that the defendants drove past the nightclub three times before the shooting and fled the scene after the shots were fired.

16 spent shell casings were recovered at the scene by investigating officers.

On October 17, police responded to a call of two firearms found in the backyard of a Mitchell Street residence, blocks away from the shooting scene.

Further surveillance footage showed the shooting suspect vehicle, a Dodge Durango, drive up to the residence minutes after the incident.

Two subjects exited the vehicle and left two firearms in the yard of the residence.

Police obtained the vehicle’s license plate number through the footage, and seized and searched the Durango, finding DNA and fingerprints belonging to Johnny Veng.

Cell phone data was also used to place Veng in the area of Club Noah at the time of the shooting.

The spent shell casings discovered at the shooting scene matched the recovered firearms from the Mitchell Street yard and Markyln Brown’s DNA was found on one of the weapons.