3 People Charged With Murder In Deadly Inwood Jewelry Robbery

INWOOD, NY — Three people were recently arrested in connection to a violent jewelry robbery in Inwood that led to the death of a 28-year-old neighborhood resident.

The New York Police Department announced Monday that Indira Santos, 24, Davierka Perez, 25, and Patrick Johnson, 29 were arrested in the last week of July in connection with the robbery and death of Joel Vasquez on July 22.

Vasquez, who lived near 221 Sherman Avenue, was standing outside his car at Sherman Avenue and West 204th Street on Thursday morning when two people approached him, flashed a gun, and went to remove his jewelry, according to the initial police report.

Vasquez refused to hand over his chain, and one of the robbers shot the 28-year-old, striking him in the body, police said

Emergency services rushed Vasquez to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, where he died a short time later.

Here are the different charges the three arrested individuals now face.

• Santos: Murder, Robbery
• Perez: Murder, Robbery
• Johnson: Murder (2 counts), Robbery

NYPD did not specify why Johnson faces two counts of murder.

Police also did not say if Santos, Perez and Johnson are responsible for the string of violent jewelry-related robberies that happened in Inwood during June and July.

On June 11, in the area of 565 West 207th Street, four people ran up on a 23-year-old man, grabbed him, and began attempting to remove his jewelry, according to police.

After the man resisted, one of the attackers fired a gun multiple times, hitting the 23-year-old in his chest, butt, and leg, police said. The group then ripped a watch off the man's hand and fled in a white Mercedes-Benz driven by a fifth individual, a police spokesperson told Patch.

The 23-year-old was taken to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.

Ten days later, Milton Grant, was sitting in a car with a friend at 175 Dyckman Street when a group of attackers rushed the car and shot him in the head. A surveillance video shows the man who shot Grant jumping into the car and taking his chain, watch and ring, while the Queens resident died in the driver's seat.

The other passenger was also shot and had his chain necklace stolen, but survived, police said.

Read More:

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