Two people recently killed in New York City would very likely still be alive today if a judge did not reduce the bail of a violent criminal arrested for trying to murder police officers.
A suspect has been arrested in the Easter Sunday execution of a man in a smoke shop that sells weed, a legal commodity in the Big Apple, and it turns out that the gunman is not only suspected of killing a 19-year-old on Saturday but was out on bail for shooting at cops in 2021.
“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,” Fox News reported.
Messiah Nantwi was arrested for the Harlem smoke shop murder yesterday and is accused of killing another person, in a separate Manhattan incident, the day before. He was arrested and indicted for shooting at police in 2021 when he was 18. Why he wasn’t in prison for that crime… pic.twitter.com/lKsznYVwzd
— Greg Gallagher (@obrienroad) April 11, 2023
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Nantwi, who was identified as a member of the local OTN Goodfellas gang, was arrested while riding a Citi Bike. Police found the murder weapon nearby.
Nantwi, who was wearing a jacket with FDNY emblazoned on it, is seen on video shooting Brunson point blank in the head and when he notices the victim still moving, calmly shoots him in the head a second time. Brunson did not move after the cold-blooded second shot.
The NYPD said Nantwi was out on bail after being charged with the attempted murder of a police officer after allegedly opening fire at cops two years ago in the Bronx. Three uniformed officers returned fire, striking the then-18-year-old several times.
That case is still pending and he was released in mid-2021 when a judge reduced his bail, according to the N.Y. Daily News.
“Nantwi was freed in mid-2021 after coughing up just $30,000 of a $300,000 bail set by a Bronx supreme court judge,” the newspaper reported. “The judge had lowered bail from $500,000 over objections from prosecutors, who didn’t want bail set in the first place.”
The NYC Detectives’ Endowment Association tweeted in response to the murders: “The consequence of having no criminal consequences!”
The consequence of having no criminal consequences!
Messiah Nantwi was out on bail after being charged with the attempted murder of three police officers in 2021!
Detectives bring criminals to justice every day — but they must be held accountable for their violent actions. pic.twitter.com/9w6fTeX8so
— Detectives’ Endowment Association (@NYCPDDEA) April 12, 2023
New Yorkers continue to elect soft-on-crime prosecutors like Alvin Bragg, who uses his office to enact political revenge, while living — and dying — in the chaos they help orchestrate with their vote.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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