The Harlem man accused of fatally shooting off-duty NYPD officer Adeed Fayaz was charged with murder on Tuesday hours after the cop was declared dead at the hospital, authorities said.
Randy “Popper” Jones, 38, allegedly shot the 26-year-old father of two in the head during a botched robbery in East New York on Saturday night after Fayaz and his brother-in-law arranged to purchase a Honda Pilot on Facebook Marketplace, police and sources said. The pair had $24,000 in cash on them at the time.
Jones lured the pair down a dark alley and allegedly opened fire “almost immediately,” striking Fayaz once in the temple. The officer’s brother-in-law then pulled the gun from Fayaz’s holster and returned fire as Jones fled.
Jones remained on the lam until cops tracked him down to a Rockland County hotel Monday — where they took him into custody using Fayaz’s handcuffs.
Police located the getaway vehicle — a black BMW SUV registered to Jones’ mother — on 129th Street and Park Avenue in Harlem on Sunday and impounded it. Detectives were examining the car at the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn on Monday.
On Tuesday, police identified Jones as the alleged shooter and charged him with robbery and murder.
Cops believe he may be behind a similar robbery nearby last month. In that case, the crook ambushed another man at a nearby address on Jan. 13, again under the guise of peddling a car through Facebook Marketplace, only to pull a gun and demand the victim’s money, sources said. The thief made off with $18,000 in that robbery.
Fayaz, a five-year veteran with New York’s finest, was declared dead at Brookdale Hospital at 3:25 p.m. Tuesday after being on life-support since the shooting, source said.
Hundreds of cops, including top NYPD brass, lined the streets outside of the hospital as officer Fayaz’s body was transported via ambulance to the city Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said Fayaz’s family was at his bedside when he was taken off life support.
“It’s a difficult day. You see police officers standing shoulder to shoulder with tears in their eyes,” said Lynch.
“This was a police officer who loved his job. Since he was a young person, he wanted to become not just a police officer, but a New York City police officer. He was viciously gunned down in the streets of Brooklyn.”
