Man gets life without parole in Chestnut Street double homicide

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Timothy Brown was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Friday, after being found guilty last month in the killings of two men in 2021 at a Chestnut Street apartment buiilding.

Brown, 30, was convicted by a jury of two counts each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the murders of Tywan Harper and Malakai Smith.

Rochester Police found Smith, 19, shot to death and Harper, 22, shot and beaten to death inside a stairwell in the apartment building on Nov. 11, 2021. Brown was arrested a little over a month later, on Dec. 14.

Brown was sentenced Friday by Acting Monroe County Judge Richard Healy. Assistant District Attorney Michael Robertson prosecuted the case.

“Timothy Brown went to Tywan Harper’s apartment with the intent to kill him, no matter the cost,” Robertson stated. “It is clear that he did not hesitate to violently take two young lives in the course of his crime. I want to thank the Rochester Police Department for their detailed investigation, resulting in today’s life sentence.”