3 Men Charged With Murder In Death Of Popular UWS Store Clerk
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Three men have been arrested and hit with state and federal charges in connection with the death of a popular Upper West Side store clerk who was killed during an apparent robbery last month.
On June 18, police found 26-year-old Bubacarr Camara with severe head trauma at the BNC T-shirt shop at 104th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Camara later died at the Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital.
Michael Adams, 29, of the Bronx, Steven Adams, 27, and Zubearu Bettis, 44, have been arrested and charged in state court with second-degree murder.
They have also been charged in U.S. District Court with robbery and conspiracy to commit a robbery, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
The defendants could face a maximum of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted on the federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Prosecutors alleged the three suspects shot and killed Camara in a robbery. They also allegedly robbed a shopkeeper at another store two days earlier at 2251 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. in Harlem – in which Bettis allegedly brandished and fired a gun while another of the suspects attacked someone.
Michael Adams was arrested Thursday morning in the Bronx and had his initial court appearance later in the day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger. Bettis and Stephen Adams had been arrested on June 26, prosecutors said.
The victim's brother said Camara immigrated to the U.S. from the West African country of Gambia a few years ago. He was well known for his friendly face.
Neighbors said the store is family owned and operated, in a busy part of the Upper West Side, not known for crime.