Day: August 21, 2024

1. NYPD says more body parts found in Brooklyn Bridge Park  Gothamist
2. NYPD investigating body parts found near carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park  ABC7 New York
3. Human leg washes up near famed Brooklyn carousel days after skull surfaces  NBC New York

A city parks department employee has been charged with murder after he allegedly fatally shot a Venezuelan migrant in a Clinton Hill park last month. 

Elijah Mitchell, a 23-year-old seasonal parks worker from Queens, was indicted on Wednesday with murder as a hate crime, second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree menacing as a hate crime and second-degree menacing. Per court records, he pleaded not guilty on all charges, and was ordered to be held on bail set at $350,000. 

Mitchell is accused of killing 30-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Marcano in Steuben Park – where Rodriguez-Marcano was believed to have been sleeping and where Mitchell worked – on the night of July 21. 

According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, the incident was sparked days earlier, on July 18. In the middle of a shift at the park, Mitchell allegedly became angry that migrants were staying there and started yelling and ripping off tarps they were using for shelter. A number of asylum-seekers, mostly men, had no choice but to sleep at the park after they ran out their 30-day stays at one of two migrant shelters nearby, Gothamist reported last month. 

Rodriguez-Marcano reportedly confronted the parks employee, and the two argued before Mitchell allegedly went to his car and returned with a gun in his waistband, which he flashed at the victim before his colleagues pulled him away. 

On July 21, Mitchell allegedly returned to the park off-the-clock and shot Rodriguez-Marcano in the chest. Paramedics rushed the victim to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to the DA’s office, the defendant was caught on surveillance footage running out of the park immediately after the shooting, entering his vehicle, and fleeing the scene. 

Mitchell was arrested for murder and criminal possession of a weapon on July 29. In Brooklyn Supreme Court on Aug. 21, he was additionally charged with

murder as a hate crime, menacing, and menacing as a hate crime. 

“This defendant allegedly came to the location where the victim was staying, armed with a gun, to settle a score,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, in a statement. “This premeditated and coldblooded homicide is outrageous on many levels, not least because the alleged motive was hatred towards new arrivals to our city. My office will vigorously prosecute this horrific case, and these enhanced charges send a strong message that hate crimes will never be tolerated in Brooklyn.”

Rodriguez-Marcano was one of three migrants fatally shot in Clinton Hill that night. While police initially believed his murder was connected with the killings of 21-year-old Enny DeJesus Urbina Mendez and 59-year-old Francisco Fuentes Rangel outside a shelter at 29 Ryerson St., it has since been determined that the incidents were separate, and another suspect is in custody for the Ryerson street murders. 

Mitchell faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the top charge, and is expected to return to court on Oct. 23. 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appear at the Fiserv Forum during a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. Photo: Jeffrey Phelps/AP Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., waits to speak during the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP Former President […]

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