The wife of an innocent Brooklyn restaurant worker killed earlier this month when a disgruntled patron was shot wildly from his car said: He didn't deserve to die like that,” he told The Post Friday.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 2, Frankie Duran, 36, tried to close the gate to Room 100 Red, a restaurant on Jamaica Avenue near New Jersey Avenue in East New York, police and police said. However, the driver fired shots into the restaurant. Surveillance video obtained by The Post.
Duran was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center after hitting his head, where he was initially listed in critical condition and died from his injuries two days later, authorities said.
“It all happened in an instant,” Duran's wife, Yesmel Tejeda, 38, told The Post on Friday.
“He shouldn't have died that way because that happened and I hope the police and the community and everyone finds that person because this is something that we all need to do. Because it's something you have to get over. But over time.”
Tejeda said the suspect ran over an unpaid $280 bill at the restaurant.
Police and officials said the enraged man got into a 2016 Chrysler with New York plates LAL 7188, fired shots in cold blood at the restaurant he had just left, and then fled.
Sources said Duran had no criminal history and was not involved in the initial disturbance, but brief footage showed him falling to the ground as his car turned right onto Marginal Street East. are.
Tejeda, who had been married to Duran for two years and was planning to start a family with him next year, said her husband's co-worker called her and told her what had happened.
“They said, 'Oh, something happened to Frankly'…so I think he was a little drunk,” Tejeda said. “So I said, 'Can you please get him on the phone right now?'” I was so angry. And they told me, “Oh, he can't talk right now.” I'm like “''.[What do] Does that mean he can't talk now? I feel like my blood pressure has also gone down. ”
She said she rushed to the hospital to be by her husband's side.
“I think he knew I was there,” she said. “I think he knew I was there. Yeah. I know that.”
Tejeda said police described the investigation into her husband's death as a “complex case.”
“So they say they want to collect all the evidence,” she said. “And I was like, what do you mean? There are cameras everywhere.”
“That's the part I don't understand,” Tejeda added. “We really want to help the whole community and people connect and find each other. [the suspect]”
The couple had planned to visit family in the Dominican Republic during the holidays, she said.
“And because of that terrible incident, we're not there,” Tejeda said. “Right now I'm giving myself some time, because this was too much. It was too much.”
When asked how she met her husband, Tejeda's face lights up for a moment.
“We met at a restaurant,” she recalled. “I was shopping for food every day, I was taking care of myself, and he was there, seeing me every day.”
“One day he came up to me and I was at the register and he said to the woman, “You know what? I pay her bills. ” It’s like, “Excuse me?” and he [said]”Yes,” and from that day on [we were together]”
She described her slain husband as “a good man, a wonderful man, a good husband, a good son, a good brother.” [and] He's part of the community and he's a good person. ”
The NYPD asked for information from the public and released two images of the suspect on the run Friday morning.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website. https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/or with X @NYPDTips.
