By Ivan Pereira
A Laurelton man was charged last week with robbing and murdering a Brooklyn man inside a store in Sheepshead Bay, prosecutors said.
Donald Michel, 21, of 141−09 185 St., was arrested Dec. 31 and arraigned in Kings County Criminal Court on first−degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and robbery counts, according to the criminal complaint. Michel allegedly shot Zalmai Anwari, 24, in the head Dec. 29 around 4 p.m. as he entered a cell phone store on 1009 Ave. Z in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, the complaint said.
Michel and an unidentified man allegedly stole several items from the store and encountered Anwari as they were leaving the scene, according to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. The Laurelton man and his alleged accomplice, who had not been identified or apprehended by authorities as of press time Tuesday, got away from the crime scene in a gold−colored vehicle, the complaint said.
Anwari was rushed to Coney Island Hospital, two blocks from the cell phone store, and was initially listed in critical condition, police said. On Dec. 31, he was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound to the head, according to the city medical examiner’s office.
If convicted of all charges, Michel faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison, a spokesman for the Brooklyn DA’s office said.
The murder took place in the 61st Precinct in Brooklyn, which experienced a 7.11 percent increase in overall crime last year, with 1,717 reported incidents in 2008, according to the most recent police statistics through Dec. 28.
Murder within the precinct’s district, which includes Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Kings Highway, Homecrest and Madison, increased 66 percent in 2008, with five reported homicides last year compared to three in 2007, according to Police Department statistics.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e−mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 146.
