The suspect captured on shocking video wearing a jacket with the letters FDNY emblazoned on the back while shooting and killing another man execution-style in a New York City smoke shop was arrested Tuesday. Police say the same man also murdered a 19-year-old just 30 hours prior and was out on bail for allegedly opening fire toward cops two years ago.
Messiah Nantwi, 21, was arrested and charged in the murder of 36-year-old Brandon Brunson in Sunday’s brazen Harlem smoke shop slaying, as well as the murder of 19-year-old Jaylen Duncan, who was fatally shot in the head near Madison Avenue and East 132nd Street Saturday afternoon.
Nantwi, according to reports, was out on bail for the attempted murder of a police officer after allegedly firing at cops during a graffiti stop in the Bronx in February 2021.
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Three uniformed officers returned fire, riddling the then-18-year-old Nantwi with bullets. He was released in mid-2021 after posting $30,000 of a $300,000 bail set by a Bronx Supreme Court judge, N.Y. Daily News reported. The judge reportedly reduced the bail from the initial $500,000 to appease prosecutors. That case remains pending. NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Tuesday that Nantwi, a member of the local OTN Goodfellas gang, was arrested while riding a Citi Bike on Lenox Avenue and the 9mm murder weapon was found nearby.
The NYPD had shared stills taken from surveillance video of the suspect who remained wanted for that homicide as of Monday.
The caught-on-camera shooting unfolded before 8 p.m. Sunday inside a smoke shop located at 304 Lenox Ave. in East Harlem, Manhattan. Police said the suspect shot a 36-year-old man in the head, causing his death. Graphic surveillance footage obtained by local outlets showed the shop filled with at least eight men and a cashier behind the counter.
The victim, seen in a tan jacket with a red hoodie underneath, interacts with the cashier. He also seems to have an exchange with the suspect – seen in a black jacket with the FDNY letters in an American flag pattern on the back. As the victim turns to leave and walks away, the suspect draws a gun and fires toward him at point-blank range.
Other shoppers scramble outside, while one hops the counter to duck for cover. The suspect then stands over the victim’s body sprawled out on the ground. Seeing the man still moving, the suspect points the gun again straight at his head and fires. The victim is then rendered face down and motionless, and the suspect calmly starts to leave the store.
The suspect goes back to check the victim’s pockets before the video cuts out.
Since New York legalized the sale of marijuana, smoke shops have been a growing concern for residents and officials alike, N.Y. Daily News reported. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in February threatened shops selling marijuana without the proper licenses with eviction.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told the New York Post that robberies targeting storefronts that sell marijuana paraphernalia – and in many cases unregulated cannabis – have gone up by 10% this year compared to 2022. The motives for the deadly shootings allegedly carried out by Nantwi Saturday and Sunday were not immediately revealed by investigators.
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