A Cambria Heights barber last week was found guilty in the stabbing death of a customer over headphones, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Cedric Simpson was convicted last Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter for the March, 2014, incident in which he slashed Carl Richardson, 19, with a pair of scissors in the neck and upper back, and stabbing him once in the chest outside Select Stylez Barbershop on Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton.
According to Brown, Simpson bought a pair of Bluetooth headphones from Richardson, a customer who had stopped by the barbershop. Simpson didn’t have the cash at that time to pay for the headset, so Richardson returned a couple days later to collect.
Just outside the barbershop, Brown said, Simpson and the victim argued about the price of the headset and started fighting. Simpson ran back into the shop, grabbed a pair of scissors from his work station and confronted Richardson, who then managed to get Simpson in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his side. But people from the shop intervened and pulled both men apart. That’s when Simpson started swinging the shears, slashing and eventually stabbing Richardson.
Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
