staten island: Frankie Nelson Deal sends him to prison for 7 years for the murder of Jerome Mitchell aka Rome Black

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Port Richmond resident faces seven years in prison stemming from a slaying last year inside a Mariners Harbor apartment building.

Frankie Nelson, 23, of Faber Street, pleaded guilty yesterday in state Supreme Court, St. George, to attempted first-degree manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 17, 2010, shooting of Jerome Mitchell.

Mitchell, 23, was gunned down about 4 a.m. in the lobby of 55 Holland Ave. in the Arlington Terrace Apartments complex, said police.

The victim, known to his friends as “Romey,” “Rome Black” and “Nino,” was hit in the stomach and later pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, authorities said.

Nelson was arrested three weeks after the shooting on Oct. 7.

He was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal weapon possession.

Peter N. Spencer, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan said prosecutors were hindered by a lack of evidence.

“This was a case in which there was no forensic evidence, no DNA, no video placing the defendant at the scene, no murder weapon recovered and a witness who was reluctant to testify,” he said yesterday. “Under these extremely difficult circumstances, the assistant district attorneys did an admirable job to resolve this case and obtain some justice for Jerome Mitchell’s family.”

Under the agreement, Nelson will be sentenced Dec. 19 to seven years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision, said Spencer.

“It was a plea deal that my client couldn’t refuse,” said Mitchell’s lawyer, Mario F. Gallucci, in a brief telephone interview. “I take my hat off to Assistant District Attorneys Mark Palladino and Om Kakani for recognizing the strengths and weaknesses in their case, enabling a plea deal satisfactory to all.”