Police have arrested an 18-year-old Brooklyn woman accused of siccing her boyfriend to fatally shoot a 24-year-old Jamaican immigrant who she alleged was “standing too close” to her at a Dunkin’ in Williamsbridge last month. On Monday, police apprehended Santiana Rodriguez, who does not have prior criminal record.
Officers found the victim, Stephaun Stewart, with a gunshot wound to his midsection at 3559 Holland Ave., around 1:30 p.m., police said. Stuart and a friend left the shop but were allegedly tracked down by the woman near Holland Avenue and East 212th Street, the senior officials said.
Shortly after, investigators believe Rodriguez’s boyfriend shot Stewart.
Stewart was taken to Jacobi Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The victim had only been in the city for a few months and was sending money back to family in Jamaica, a source familiar to the family told the Bronx Times early Tuesday morning.
A Dunkin’ Donuts employee, who declined to be named, told the Bronx Times last month that they didn’t feel like Stewart was invading the woman’s personal space, and that he was standing where the appropriate measured social distancing placemats were.
Rodriguez is facing murder charges while the boyfriend, who has no active identifiers, remains at large; the investigation is still ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes.
