Photo Courtesy of NYPD
Burton was arrested after a transit police officer allegedly spotted him double up with another individual and go through the turnstile at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue station without paying the subway fare.
By Forum Staff
An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder after a transit officer stopped him for allegedly going through a subway turnstile with another individual early Thursday morning. The Long Island City resident was being sought in connection with the shooting death of a 29-year-old man last summer, Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan, on behalf of Queens DA Richard Brown, announced on Friday.
Shahid Burton, who lives in the Queensbridge Houses, has been arraigned on a complaint charging him with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Burton was remanded and ordered to return to court on April 11.
According to the charges, at approximately 12:50 a.m., Thursday, a transit police officer spotted Burton allegedly double up with another individual and go through the turnstile without paying the subway fare. Burton was stopped by the officer, who learned the teen was wanted in connection to a homicide that occurred last summer.
Continuing, according to the charges, Burton was one of two people being sought in the death of Jelan Moreira. The defendant is alleged to have followed the 29-year-old victim as he walked through the courtyard of the Ravenswood Houses in LIC around 5:20 a.m. on Aug. 26. Video surveillance allegedly shows Burton and an unidentified cohort approach Moreira from behind. The victim was shot multiple times in the torso and chest and succumbed to the injuries.
“The defendant was a suspect in an on-going homicide investigation. However, an alleged early morning fare evasion attempt at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue subway station has resulted in the arrest of this individual wanted for murder,” Ryan noted.
If convicted, Burton faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
