If only all murder suspects were as stupid as Earle Barranco - a Brooklyn fugitive who waltzed past a JumboTron camera at an NBA game in the same gaudy bling he wore when he allegedly pulled the trigger.
As if that weren't bold enough, the dopey 24-year-old showed up at the same arena days later, where cops promptly nabbed him and replaced his bling with shiny steel handcuffs.
Barranco is being held in Charlotte, N.C., but will soon be on his way back to New York to face charges in the Oct. 23 slaying of Corey Scott, 28, at Chelsea's Good Stuff Diner.
Scores of customers witnessed the execution, and it wasn't long before cops had identified Barranco as the gunman who sported a diamond-encrusted moneybag hanging from a gold chain.
The NYPD put out a nationwide arrest warrant and even notified authorities in the Bahamas, where the suspect's father lives.
Their big break came when Barranco showed up to a Charlotte Bobcats game Oct. 29 and made the mistake of walking into the view of the JumboTron lens as it zoomed in on a couple.
"He was walking behind them, but someone who knows him spotted him," a police source said. "After the game, that person learned he was wanted and then reported seeing him."
Charlotte authorities reviewed the tape and confirmed that Barranco had been there - with his telltale pendant.
When he showed up to another Bobcats game at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday night, North Carolina cops and FBI agents swooped down and arrested him.
He asked for a lawyer and gave no statements, sources said. He is expected to appear at an extradition hearing in North Carolina today.
Police believe the murder stemmed from a money dispute.
Scott, also known as Young Classik, frequently posted YouTube videos boasting about his wealth. Sources said he confronted Barranco at the diner about money he was owed.
Security video showed Scott and several friends walking into the restaurant and confronting a group in the back, police said.
One of those men - believed to be Barranco - stood up and Scott got in his face. Moments later, shots were fired, out of camera range.
No comments:
Post a Comment