By Patrick Donachie
The father and girlfriend of a Jamaica man awaiting trial on charges that he committed two home invasions in 2015 allegedly conspired to hire a hitman to kill witnesses for the prosecution’s case against him, according to the Queens DA.
Latisha Larrymore, 31, and Eddie Marcus, 53, were charged with second-degree conspiracy and criminal solicitation to commit murder, the DA said. They allegedly attempted to hire the hitman in a bid to eliminate witnesses set to testify against Edward Leasure, 36, who is in Rikers, DA Richard Brown said. All three individuals were from Jamaica.
“Unfortunately, some criminals facing trial and possible imprisonment seek to improve their odds of avoiding punishment by intimidating or eliminating potential witnesses against them,” Brown said. “The criminal justice system cannot function effectively if victims of and witnesses to crimes do not feel safe to report those crimes and cooperate in investigations and prosecutions.”
On March 16, 2015, Leasure entered a Queens home and pulled a black firearm on two women, according to the district attorney. He led the women inside the home into a bedroom and asked them where “the safe” was, the DA said. One woman gave Leasure $300 in cash. According to the DA’s office, he went to a house four doors down and punched a woman who was in the home at the time. He was arrested later that day.
Leasure was arraigned on March 18, 2015 on charges of burglary, robbery, weapons possession and other charges. His next court date is on June 21. The DA’s office cautioned that the charges were accusations and that the defendants should be presumed innocent.
According to the charges, Larrymore and Marcus conspired in March and April of this year to hire a hitman who would kill witnesses set to tesitfy in Leasure’s upcoming trial. Marcus allegedly approached someone known to police from the investigation and said he would pay the person to kill several witnesses, the DA said. Marcus allegedly supplied the would-be hitman with the names and addresses of several witnesses, and Larrymore allegedly told him that she knew somebody who would sell him a gun and a silencer, according to prosecutors.
After her arrest, Larrymore allegedly told police that Leasure was aware of the plot, the DA said. Leasure called Larrymore to arrange a meeting between her and Marcus, who is his father. Larrymore allegedly said Leasure had found a “lawyer” who would handle the situation, Brown said.
According to the DA’s office, “lawyer” was a code word for “hitman.”
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
