Murder Charges For Brooklyn Wine Store Killing Suspect
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Police have made an arrest in the murder of a beloved wine store clerk who tried to defend his girlfriend.
CBS 2 learned Wednesday evening that the suspect confessed to the crime after a scuffle with police.
Police said 33-year-old Eion Klass confessed to the murder of Yoseph Robinson.
Klass has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon on the same day Robinson was layed to rest in his native Jamaica.
He did not enter a plea at his arraignment and was ordered held without bail.
Robinson was shot to death last Thursday while trying to protect his girlfriend during a robbery in a Midwood wine store.
Robinson was a former hip-hop record executive who turned his life around and converted to Judaism.
Sources tell CBS 2 that Klass admitted to pulling a gun on Robinson and shooting him during a botched robbery that was caught on surveillance tape.
During questioning, Klass tried to make a getaway.
"When he was being brought in, the handcuffs were taken off him and he attempted to escape. A struggle ensued," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "He was taken back into custody, [and] he refused medical aid."
On Wednesday, Robinson's girlfriend was in Jamaica for her boyfriend's funeral, but her mother spoke with reporters, including CBS 2's Sean Hennessey, and said Klass deserves the same fate as what he allegedly dished out.
"He needs to die, I'm serious," she said. "I mean he took someone that was really a beautiful person."
Friends also weighed in on the arrest.
"The only thing I hope is that he gets the justice that's due him. You take a life, what can I tell you," David Deutsch said.
Klass, who has already spent 11 years behind bars, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
