A Brooklyn laundry owner killed in a chain-grab robbery was targeted for death by his spiteful cousin, who enlisted the assistance of a friend to recruit a gang-connected hit squad, prosecutors and law enforcement authorities claimed Thursday.
The brutal details of Money Perkins’ murder, which occurred on December 1, were revealed Thursday, one day after five suspects, including a 16-year-old child, were arrested.
The Daily News received the shocking video of a robbery that turned tragic in December at the victim’s laundromat on Clarendon Road near Schenectady Avenue in East Flatbush.
However, the incident was more than just a robbery gone wrong, according to authorities.
The three guys and one adolescent who shot Perkins had murder in mind from the beginning, and they passed over the $60,000 chain to Louis Mercado, 48, who created the heist team and recruited his own 16-year-old stepson for the crime, according to authorities.
According to law enforcement authorities, Perkins was slain as the result of a long-running feud with his cousin, Ronnie Butler (46).
When Butler decided to kill Perkins, he turned to Mercado, whom a law enforcement source referred to as a “O.G.” — shorthand for “original gangster.”
According to the allegations, Mercado recruited his stepson, Zecharyah “Zoota” Slay, 16, as well as two of Slay’s associates, Shaleek “Zdot” Riddick, 19, and Diante “Dazz” Stinson, 20.
According to accounts, Slay and his companions are all members of Shoot on Sight, a subsection of the Edgemere Bloods. According to authorities, Mercado stayed behind while Butler and the others completed the deed.
Authorities also stated, that the four gunmen met in a deli in Far Rockaway, Queens, where all of the accused lived, before piling into a vehicle and driving to Brooklyn.
The footage captures Perkins’ dying moments as he tends to a washing machine in the East Flatbush laundromat.
Four thieves burst inside the store, clad in black and blue hoodies. One of them pulled out a gun. Perkins fought back and grappled with the gunman until they collapsed, at which point the accomplices drew their own weapons.
At least one of the men can be seen firing, and Perkins is shot multiple times in the face and body. Prosecutors suspect the deadly rounds were fired from at least two firearms.
The thieves then snatched the gold chain from Perkins’ neck. Perkins’ head smacked against the ground as one criminal tried unsuccessfully to rip it off before deciding to lift it over the victim’s head instead.
Prosecutors blamed Butler for the final act of violence, stating in criminal complaints that he repeatedly banged Perkins’ head on the floor.
The killers escaped in a white automobile, which was later found. Police claimed clothes and cell phones were discovered after subsequent search warrants, which helped them identify the suspects.
Cops discovered mail addressed to Butler in the car, as well as blood on the emergency brake and the interior of the driver’s side window, Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle stated at Riddick’s arraignment on Thursday.
According to Ingle, Slay released a video of himself clutching a revolver in the car while wearing the same shoes he wore during the killing.
Medics took Perkins to Kings County Hospital, but he died.
Following the murder, the team gave the necklace to Mercado, who later sold it, according to authorities.
According to the criminal accusations, text conversations and video reveal the murder being planned, and additional messages show that Mercado intended to pay some of the accused.
All five are charged with murder, robbery, and conspiracy, and were ordered jailed without bail during arraignments in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The horrific and senseless murder of Money Perkins, a loving father, husband, and hardworking entrepreneur, devastated not only his family but the entire community,” Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office spokesperson, said Thursday.
Gonzalez claimed the suspects were “responsible for this brutal and callous execution.” My heart remains with Mr. Perkins’ family and loved ones, and I am determined to hold all those involved accountable.”
Perkins’ sister, Shanequa Perkins, 40, later told The News that he had promised to stop by and see her after checking in on his business.
“He never came back,” she lamented. “They killed him. “They killed him.”
She described the victim as “always putting everyone before him” and gave him the moniker Money after his father. She said that his costly chain was the result of hard effort.
“He wasn’t going to let anyone take it just like that,” she told me. “He had many such chains.”
Riddick’s family members declined to comment outside the courthouse Thursday. His lawyer, John Fink, stated during the hearing that the shooters all wore masks and gloves, and that no evidence provided thus far placed Riddick at the site.
Police stated the youngster and 19-year-old had no past arrests.
Butler has served four spells in state prison, according to documents. He was sentenced to more than two years in prison for a weapons charge, which ended in 2001. He eventually served three years for two different narcotics charges, followed by six and a half years for an attempted robbery conviction in Brooklyn. He was granted conditional release in 2012.
Stinson has one previous arrest, Mercado has eight, and Butler has ten.