The New York City Police Department arrested a man who had a seasonal job cleaning Steuben Playground in Clinton Hill for the killing of a Venezuelan asylum seeker there last month, according to the New York Times.
The NYPD told the newspaper that they charged Elijah Mitchell on murder charges on Monday, accusing him of fatally shooting Arturo Jose Rodriguez-Marcano on July 21, before driving away in a blue sedan, according to a law enforcement official and a complaint filed in Criminal Court in Brooklyn, the paper reported.
Mitchell, who also worked at the migrant shelter on Randall’s Island, was assigned to clean the park for a few hours a day. The NYPD told the Times that they believe Mitchell had a confrontation with Rodriguez-Marcano, 30, a few days before shooting him.
Mitchell made $20 an hour as a seasonal park worker last summer and was hired again in May of this year, the paper said. The Parks Department told the Times he he was suspended after his arrest and that the department was moving to terminate his employment.
There were two shootings on July 21, one in Steuben Playground and another in front of 29 Ryerson Street, an emergency migrant shelter, where two men were fatally shot. Police arrested one of the two men involved in the latter shooting in July.
