A 23-year-old Department of Parks & Recreation employee was arrested on Monday for allegedly killing a 30-year-old man last month in one of two violent incidents that left three men dead on the same night within just a few blocks.
Elijah Mitchell, a Queens resident, was charged with murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment after he allegedly shot and killed 30-year-old Arturo Jose Rodriguez-Marcano at Steuben Playground in Clinton Hill on July 21, the New York City Police Department announced on Thursday.
According to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Mitchell drove up to the park, exited his vehicle, and fired multiple rounds at Rodriguez-Marcano — who was homeless and reported to be sleeping in the park. Per the complaint, surveillance footage caught the defendant fleeing the scene, exiting his car, and driving away.
Mitchell pleaded not guilty to all charges during a July 30 arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, records show, and was ordered to be held on bail, set at $350,000.
The killing was one of two that occurred in Clinton Hill that night. Minutes after Rodriguez-Marcano was shot, a pair of shooters pulled up outside a migrant shelter at 29 Ryerson St. and opened fire, striking 21-year-old Enny DeJesus Urbina Mendez and 59-year-old Francisco Fuentes Rangel, who were both staying at the shelter at the time.
Urbina Mendez was pronounced dead from his injuries that night. Fuentes Rangel, who had been shot in the head, died days later after being hospitalized in critical condition.
All three victims were migrants, and police on July 23 said it appeared that the killings were connected. But as of Aug. 2, the Ryerson Street shooting and the Steuben Playground shooting are being treated as separate cases, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
On July 24, police arrested Jorge Said Benitez Villa, on two counts of murder for the shootings of Urbina Mendez and Fuentes Rangel outside the shelter. Benitez Villa was reportedly the driver of the moped, and crashed a few blocks from the scene. He is still hospitalized for his injuries and has not been arraigned, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Mitchell was a seasonal parks worker, the department confirmed, who was first hired for a five-month gig last year and returned in May. The department suspended his employment on July 30 and is moving to terminate him.
According to the New York Times, police believe Mitchell and Rodriguez-Marcano had an altercation at the park a few days before the shooting. They initially believed the shootings were connected because the moped riders were spotted driving behind Mitchell’s vehicle on the night of July 21.
Law enforcement officials are still investigating whether the killings of Urbina Mendez and Fuentes Rangel were gang-related. On July 30, Mayor Eric Adams said law enforcement officials were “still analyzing exactly what happened.”
