Category: Murder charge
Bronx male allegedly says ‘f**k you’ to elderly neighbor’s gripe about loud music. As tensions rise, elderly man grabs a gun.
Gilbert Smalls, 76, told police he complained about loud music coming from 21-year-old Justin Chatfield’s next-door apartment in the River Park Towers in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx on Thursday night, the New York Daily News reported, citing law enforcement sources.
With that, Smalls claimed the much younger Chatfield responded “f**k you” to his complaint; their argument took place through a wall that separates their apartments, the Daily News said.
‘Her baby, one of her babies, died in her arms.’
Moments later, Smalls told police he heard seven shots fired outside his window, the paper said, citing sources. Police haven’t determined if shots actually were fired, the Daily News added.
Smalls, who lives with his wife and told police he’s in poor health, then got his gun — a 9-mm pistol he keeps in a safe, the paper said.
Smalls then stepped into the hallway, the Daily News said, adding that Smalls’ doorway and Chatfield’s doorway are just inches apart.
Law enforcement sources told the paper that surveillance video obtained by investigators shows Smalls opening fire at Chatfield as soon as Chatfield came to his own apartment doorway.
Walter Fields — an attorney and longtime friend of Chatfield’s family — told the Daily News that after Chatfield was shot, he stumbled back into his apartment and tried to get help from his mother.
“Her baby, one of her babies, died in her arms,” Fields told the paper last week.
The Daily News said Chatfield was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but couldn’t be saved.
Sources told the paper that police soon knocked on Smalls’ door with the intention of asking to look at his Ring doorbell video — but Smalls confessed instead.
“I’m the one who shot him,” one source quoted Smalls saying, the Daily News reported.
More from the paper:
Smalls then led police into his apartment and gave officers the key to the safe containing his gun, sources said.
The suspect suggested he shot his neighbor thinking he may have been armed, sources said.
He complained of health issues, telling cops he doesn’t expect to “make it,” presumably while behind bars, sources said.
Smalls was arraigned Saturday on murder and gun possession charges in Bronx Criminal Court and ordered held without bail, the Daily News said, adding that Smalls’ lawyer declined comment Monday.
Sources told the paper there had been previous tensions between Smalls and Chatfield, but it doesn’t appear police had ever been called to their apartments.
Chatfield had multiple arrests on his record, most recently for robbery in January 2025, police told the Daily News.
A large makeshift memorial was set up outside the apartment building for Chatfield, the paper said.
Chatfield also was expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend, the Daily News said. The couple were high school sweethearts, Fields added to the paper.
“He was very close to having a baby — I mean, within months,” Fields also told the Daily News. “He should be a new father. He was looking for work, going to trade schools. He was really trying to become a productive member. Support his family, support his child.”
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Suspect walks free amid serious charges due to jaw-dropping technicality — and is accused of murder just weeks later
A 29-year-old male accused in a fatal stabbing in Boston over the weekend was facing weapons and drug charges less than a month ago but walked free.
Court records indicate that Javonte Robinson’s previous weapons and drug charges were dismissed when an attorney could not be found after 45 days, WCVB-TV reported.
‘Under Governor Healey, the state failed to pay public defenders adequately, failed to ensure the courts had the staffing they needed, and failed to protect the public.’
Robinson’s case was dropped amid a work stoppage involving private attorneys who normally defend suspects who can’t afford lawyers, the station said, adding that the attorneys in question stopped accepting new cases in May in an attempt to force the state to pay them more.
WCVB said Robinson was among 145 individuals whose charges were dismissed in one day of court proceedings.
Robinson then allegedly stabbed a man Saturday night in the city’s Mattapan neighborhood, and the victim was taken to a hospital, where he died, Boston police said, according to the station. Robinson was arrested just after 3 p.m. Sunday, WCVB noted.
Robinson was arraigned Monday in Dorchester District Court and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, Boston.com reported, citing court records. He was then taken to Suffolk County Jail, the outlet added.
More from Boston.com:
In late August, Robinson was arraigned on charges of possession of a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class A drug. He was released on personal recognizance, according to the records, but was transported to Attleboro District Court, where he was wanted on other outstanding warrants.
Last month, Robinson’s charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that the case could be reopened in the future. This was the result of the “Lavallee protocol,” which was activated in Massachusetts earlier this year due to the work stoppage.
Boston.com noted that the “Lavallee protocol” mandates that defendants without attorneys are ordered released after being held for more than seven days — and those who go 45 days without a lawyer have their cases dismissed without prejudice.
This is what happened in Robinson’s dangerous weapon case, Boston.com said, citing court records.
Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve blasted Democrat Gov. Maura Healey for her handling of the lawyer shortage in the wake of the Robinson case, the Boston Herald reported.
Shortsleeve, according to the paper, said that “this should never happen in a functioning state government. Under Governor Healey, the state failed to pay public defenders adequately, failed to ensure the courts had the staffing they needed, and failed to protect the public. That is unacceptable, and it is dangerous.”
Fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue also blamed Healey, the Herald said: “The fundamental role of the governor is to uphold the law and keep our communities safe. This is another example of our governor failing to solve problems and [running] an organization that has a horrible impact on the victim and their families.”
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