By Betsy Scheinbart
A Hollis man was arrested Sunday and charged with murdering a Laurelton man Oct. 23 outside his home after he encountered three men who had tied up a woman with duct tape, a Police Department spokesman said.
As he left the house, the victim came upon the three men trying to enter the residence on 139th Avenue with the woman''s keys, police said. A resident of the house later identified the woman as the landlord.
Everton Byrield, 24, of 104-25 Farmers Blvd. in Hollis was arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Monroe Davis, 32, of 220-11 139th Ave. in Laurelton, said Jerry Varson, an NYPD spokesman.
No other arrests had been made by press time. Police continued to investigate the crime, which happened outside the house on a quiet block in a middle-class neighborhood in southeast Queens.
The deadly attack began at about 8:50 p.m., when the 36-year-old woman was approached by three men, who restrained her with duct tape around her wrists and mouth, Varson said.
The three men were trying to enter the house with the woman''s keys when Davis left the three-story building Varson said.
There was a commotion and Davis was shot three times: once in the back, once in the hand and once in the leg, Varson said. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene.
Byrield was arrested Sunday after police discovered he had gone to Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, L.I. on his own for treatment of a gunshot wound.
The porch of the Laurelton home was still in disarray last Thursday as mail for several different people, including a phone bill for Davis, lay strewn all over the stoop, front steps, railing and side entrance to the house.
Gardening tools, a hose, a broom and several pairs of colored plastic gloves were also tossed about the porch and side yard.
Laurelton is known for its gardens, and most houses on the block where Davis lived are decorated with bright blue, white, purple, red and yellow flowers.
“It is a very safe, very quiet, nice community,” said James Wright, who has lived on the block for 22 years. “It is one of the best neighborhoods – the top neighborhood around.”
Wright noted how nicely the lawns and gardens are maintained on his block and continued to praise the neighborhood, despite the recent shooting.
“Once in a while, you find things happen – even in the best neighborhoods,” he said.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
