SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A career criminal who was third on the list of New York’s most wanted fugitives was fatally shot during a gun battle with U.S. Marshals as they tried to arrest him Wednesday in New Jersey.
Shamar Leggette, 41, was wanted in the robbery of flashy Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead during a live-streamed service in 2022. He fired at officers as he exited the MHO Inn and Suites on US-1 in Monmouth Junction, where they were waiting to take him into custody, reported NBC New York.
A woman accompanying Leggette peacefully surrendered to law enforcement officers Wednesday afternoon before the gunman came out shooting, according to the news outlet.
Leggette was identified among a trio of masked robbers who stormed the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie on July 24, 2022, in the middle of Whitehead’s live-streamed service. Leggette was fingered as a suspect once his two accomplices were arrested, the New York Post reported.
Footage of the armed robbery shows the infamous preacher hit the floor as the gun-wielding suspects stormed into the service. The men targeted Whitehead and his wife. Among the valuables that were stolen included the bishop’s $75,000 Rolex watch, a $75,000 Cavalier watch, and a $25,000 ruby and diamond ring.
The deceased gunman previously served two stints in state prison. He was wanted for additional crimes, including in Queens and Rhode Island, according to NBC sources.
The New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting (OIS). South Brunswick police officers were also at the scene.
In Dec. 2022, the “Bling Bishop” was accused of defrauding one of his parishioners out of part of her retirement savings, attempting to extort and defraud a businessman, and lying to the FBI, according to a federal indictment, Law Officer reported at the time.
“As we allege today, Lamor Whitehead abused the trust placed in him by a parishioner, bullied a businessman for $5,000, then tried to defraud him of far more than that, and lied to federal agents,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement when the indictment was unsealed in 2022. “His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now.”
According to Black News Network, Whitehead’s federal case is set for trial next month.
