‘Bling’ rob suspect killed
Dies in shootout with U.S. Marshals at a New Jersey hotel
The suspect wanted in the caught-on-camera stickup of “Bling Bishop” Lamor Whitehead was reportedly shot and killed by police at a New Jersey hotel on Wednesday.
U.S. marshals were attempting to arrest Shamar Leggette, 41, at the MHO Inn and Suites on U.S. 1 in Monmouth Junction on Wednesday afternoon, according to NBC New York.
Leggette reportedly came out shooting at deputy marshals and they fired back, hitting the man and killing him.
The man was one of three who held up Whitehead, his wife and their child at gunpoint during a July 24, 2022, heist in Canarsie, Brooklyn, according to police.
Already arrested in the robbery were alleged accomplices Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack, who were nabbed a few weeks after the incident.
Pollack, 25, pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge in November.
As news of Leggette’s death made it to Whitehead, he told the Daily News it’s “unfortunate that another young man of color has been killed.
“I forgive him, and I would love for me and his family to reconcile,” Whitehead added. “I would give my services for free because I am a pastor, and the last church that he was in was my church, even though he was doing something improper.”
Whitehead’s own trial, for fraud and extortion, is set to start next month.
He landed in the city’s spotlight thanks to his friendly ties with Mayor Adams. As Brooklyn borough president, the pol had Whitehead appear with him at public events, and Whitehead has said he used to see the mayor as his “mentor” and “good friend.”
Leggette did two stints in prison for robbery, attempted murder and weapons possession and was released from Fishkill Correctional Facility in Dutchess County in January 2022 — just six months before the high-stakes robbery.
He was on parole until February.
Whitehead was preaching at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry on Remsen Ave. near Avenue D when three masked robbers barged into the church as parishioners worshiped, video shows.
The men made off with $1 million in jewelry lifted from Whitehead and his spouse — who was holding the couple’s daughter when robbed by one of the gun-toting men, officials said.
After the incident, rumors swirled that it was an inside job, but police determined the flashy bishop played no part in the heist.
“They destroyed my ministry,” Whitehead said Wednesday of the robbers. “They had the world believe that I was the one that set up the robbery, and some still believe that.
“I was turned from a victim into a villain, and it opened up all these other attacks on my life,” he added.
In December 2022, Whitehead was charged with fraud, extortion and lying to the authorities. Federal prosecutors said he solicited money from victims, including a retired parishioner, through threats or false investment promises, then kept it.
Last March, he was hit with a wire fraud charge after he falsely informed a bank that his business held $2 million when in reality, it had less than $10, a superseding indictment filed in Manhattan Federal Court details.