A career criminal suspected of robbing flamboyant Brooklyn Bishop LaMore Whitehead during a livestreamed service in 2022 was shot and killed by U.S. marshals in New Jersey on Wednesday, law enforcement officials told the Post. .
Shamar Leggett — 3rd place New York's Most Wanted List The fugitive died during a confrontation with sheriff's officers trying to arrest him on suspicion of armed robbery, sources said.
Leggett, 41, opened fire on officers as he exited the MHO Inn and Suites in Monmouth Junction. NBC New York reported.
The woman who was with him in the hotel turned herself in to authorities before Leggett came out, the station said.
Leggett, who served two stints in state prison, was identified as a suspect in the brazen church robbery last year after two accomplices were arrested.
On July 24, 2022, a trio of masked robbers attacked Tomorrow's Leaders International Ministries in Canarsie during Mr. Whitehead's livestreamed sermon.
Footage of the robbery shows the notorious pastor being knocked to the floor as armed men rush in. They targeted Mr. Whitehead and his wife and stole valuables, including Bishop's $75,000 Rolex watch, a $75,000 Cavalier watch, and a $25,000 ruby and diamond ring. .
Bishop, wearing a Gucci suit, appeared on Instagram Live Wednesday night to talk about the robber's death.
He said Leggett “was the man who put a gun in my wife's face and also put a gun in the face of our 8-month-old daughter” during the robbery while his wife was holding their baby daughter.
“So this was a man on the run, who came and put a gun to my head and ripped off the clergyman's collar and ripped off his chains. He was just brutal,” Whitehead said, adding that Leggett It was announced that he had been killed by security officers.
“My condolences go out to his family,” he continued. “This is a sad situation for us as African Americans, another cycle of destruction…It's so pointless.”
The bishop, who himself has been charged with extortion and wire fraud, has forgiven all three men who robbed him and met with Leggett's family before offering to serve the funeral service and assured them he had no animosity toward them. He said he wanted to convey the following.
“I forgive him and I want to contribute to my family,” Whitehead said. “I praise him and I preach worship. Whatever I can do in my capacity as a pastor, I do it for free.”
Leggett was released on parole from state prison just six months before the high-profile robbery.
Records show he was serving time for robbery, attempted murder and weapons possession. Records show he served time in prison for first-degree robbery from August 2003 to July 2010.
The conviction stems from the 2002 armed robbery of former NBA player and then-Nets point guard Chris Childs outside a Manhattan restaurant owned by Sean P. Justin. Diddy Combs.
Leggett, who was 20 years old at the time of the crime, pointed a gun at Childs as other robbers took Childs' $20,000 watch, $800 in cash and a cell phone.
One accomplice ordered Leggett to pull the trigger and handed the thief a $3,500 diamond ring before the basketball player begged him to stop.
Leggett is also wanted for attempted murder and robbery in connection with a robbery in Queens, state records show, in which he robbed a woman of $7,000 in cash on her way to a bank and then fired at a bystander. He fired a shot, but missed.
He was also wanted in Rhode Island for shooting and killing a man in Providence in August and robbing him of $50,000 worth of jewelry. ABC6 Rhode Island News reported.
Leggett's accomplices in the Brooklyn church robbery have pleaded guilty.
The U.S. Marshals Office did not immediately return a Post reporter's phone call Wednesday night.
