The three men allegedly connected to a deadly shooting at a College Point parking lot last October have been indicted for second-degree murder and additional charges, prosecutors announced on Friday.
Brooklyn residents Brandon Lee, 24, Daijan Palmer, 26, and Darvin Guiteau, 24, are accused of participating in the Oct. 1, 2018 murder of Jaquan Campbell, 25, inside the College Point multiplex parking lot. According to law enforcement sources, the shooting stemmed from a dispute involving Campbell and the suspects at a nearby strip club earlier that morning.
“In a mob-styled hit, the men accused in this indictment went after an entourage of four cars leaving a strip club in Queens last October,” Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan said on May 3. “This was a brutal and calculated killing. This kind of lawless gun violence will not be tolerated in our community . The defendants tried to flee justice — some fleeing the state — but they’ve all been apprehended and will be imprisoned as a result of their alleged actions.”
Authorities said the trouble began early on the morning of Oct. 1, 2018 at Angels Strip Club, located at 32-17 College Point Blvd. in Flushing. Published reports indicated that Campbell had been involved in an altercation at the club before leaving with his girlfriend.
At around 3:24 a.m. that morning, prosecutors said, Campbell and his girlfriend were inside a black Lexus being pursued by a black BMW, occupied by four men, three of whom were wearing masks. The BMW driver intentionally crashed into the Lexus at the multiplex parking lot, in the vicinity of Ulmer Street and the Whitestone Expressway.
Law enforcement sources said that Campbell was able to drive a couple of blocks, then stopped to inspect the damage. The BMW then pulled up, and the four men jumped out of the vehicle. One of them pulled out a gun and started firing at Campbell near his car. More than 40 rounds in all were fired, according to Ryan.
Campbell was hit multiple times in the chest and later died of his injuries. His girlfriend was uninjured.
Following the gunfire, the four men abandoned their BMW and forced Campbell’s companion out of the Lexus. Then then hopped into the car and took off along Ulmer Street to the intersection of 120th Street and 26th Avenue, where they ditched the vehicle and fled.
Officers from the 109th Precinct responded to the incident and launched an investigation with the NYPD Queens North Homicide Squad.
Detectives picked up Palmer and Guiteau two weeks later on Oct. 14, while Lee was apprehended in Miami, Florida a week later. The indictment charges the three men with second-degree murder, first- and second-degree robbery, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Palmer faces an additional charge of tampering with physical evidence.
All three men remain held without bail and must return to court on May 20. They each face up to 25 years to life behind bars if convicted.
Ryan added that a fourth man is currently in custody out of state, and his extradition back to Queens is pending.
