3 men guilty of killing bouncer in robbery of Brooklyn gambling den

It took conscionable a fewer hours for a national assemblage to find a trio of New Jersey men blameworthy of murdering a bouncer successful a botched robbery 4 years agone astatine an amerciable Brooklyn gambling den.

The two-week Brooklyn Federal Court proceedings of Charles Powell, Musah Coward and Brian Castro included video of the robbery and fatal shooting, compartment operation records showing the suspects’ telephone locations that nighttime — and on-the-stand grounds from the 4th subordinate of their robbery crew.

The victim, Rodney Maxwell, 58, a longtime Bellevue Hospital employee who was moonlighting arsenic a information defender astatine the “G-Spot” successful Brownsville, tried to halt the Oct. 7, 2020, robbery earlier Powell and Castro changeable him dead.

Rodney Maxwell

Obtained by Daily News

Rodney Maxwell.

The 3 men look a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of beingness successful situation erstwhile they’re sentenced June 6 on national execution and robbery charges.

“I’m conscionable blessed they’re disconnected the streets to ne'er bash this again to anybody else’s family,” Maxwell’s daughter, Revin Maxwell, 27, told the Daily News. “This won’t bring my begetter back. I’m conscionable blessed this won’t hap to anybody else.”

Maxwell, a begetter of three, survived a week-long bout with COVID successful March 2020, during the aboriginal days of the deadly pandemic, conscionable 7 months earlier his death.

Coward, who had ties to Brownsville, picked the people and drove the unit to the gambling den aft getting a extremity from his relative that idiosyncratic had conscionable mislaid $50,000 and was coming backmost with different $20,000 to support gambling, the 4th man, Shamel Myhand, testified.

Coward parked astir the corner and stayed successful the car portion the different men walked inside, azygous file, past stormed into the gambling den connected Hegeman Ave., wherever radical were betting connected dice successful Cee-Lo and pool.

One Dead In Brooklyn Quadruple Shooting

Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News

NYPD analyse the country of the shooting astatine 181 Hegeman Ave. successful Brooklyn connected Oct. 7, 2020. (Theodore Parisienne / NY Daily News)

Powell walked successful first, followed by Castro and Myhand — but Maxwell spotted Myhand was armed, and tried to disarm him.

They fought, and Myhand’s weapon jammed, but Castro came successful to help, shooting the bouncer successful the back.

That didn’t halt Maxwell, though.

“He benignant of had me, like, pinned down astatine the time. And helium fell connected apical of me,” Myhand testified. “And helium was trying to instrumentality my weapon again retired of my manus and I started pressing the trigger again. And yet the weapon went disconnected and the slug deed the level and deed the partition aft the floor.”

Charles Powell is seen connected video surveillance entering a gambling den astatine 181 Hegeman Ave. successful Brooklyn connected Oct. 7, 2020. (NYPD)

While they struggled, Powell came from the backmost patio and changeable Maxwell successful the chest.

“He fell, and I got up and I ran to the door,” Myhand said.

Castro and Powell rejoined Coward, portion Myhand took disconnected running, making his mode to the Newport Gardens apartments, wherever helium utilized to live.

Brian Castro is seen connected video surveillance entering a gambling den astatine 181 Hegeman Ave. successful Brooklyn connected Oct. 7, 2020. (NYPD)

Powell besides changeable and wounded 3 radical successful the gambling den’s patio during the chaos.

“These defendants were motivated to find a robbery, to transportation retired a ‘lick,'” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andres Palacio said successful his closing argument. “They were motivated by greed. They were motivated by getting a speedy dollar.”

Myhand said helium pocketed $1,200 during the heist, but helium told his accomplices helium lone got $800, “because I felt they near me.” He gave $400 to Coward, helium testified.

The assemblage besides heard from a person of Castro who recorded a speech successful which Castro admitted to the killing, said helium made disconnected with thousands of dollars, and mimicked Maxwell’s dying sounds.

“Today’s verdict delivers justness for the victims of this vicious and senseless transgression that was driven by greed and carried retired with a implicit disregard for quality life,” U.S. Attorney John J. Durham said. “The defendants are liable for murdering Rodney Maxwell, who was gunned down successful acold blood, and the carnage could person been adjacent worse with the wanton shooting of terrified bystanders.”