The suspect in the cold-blooded murders of two people and a dog on a street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, was discovered under a bed at the time of his arrest, authorities reported.
Identified as Lenue Moore, 31, he struggled with officers when they pulled him under the bed and charged him with two counts of murder and animal cruelty.
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Marisol Martínez Alonso ordered the man detained without bail for the fatal execution-style shooting of Jacqueline Billini, 57, and Levaughn Harvin, 42, on September 29.
The two fatalities were walking their dogs near the corner of W. 165th Street and Edgecombe Avenue when Moore shot them in the head, officials said. He then pointed his gun at Billini’s dog, named Zeus, and shot it dead.
Harvin’s children were able to watch Moore pull the trigger, one of the woman’s relatives said, the Daily News reported.
For his part, Deputy Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked the judge to remand the suspect for the murders, arguing that Moore had been avoiding police for weeks.
Although he was finally located in an apartment near the scene of the incident, police sources said.
October 2023. NYC. Lenue Moore, 31, was caught yesterday by US Marshals for the Sept. 29 shooting deaths of Jackie Billini, Levaughn Harvin and Billini’s dog, Zeus. Moore was staying at his mother’s apartment which was in the same complex as Billini. He had it in for the victim… pic.twitter.com/K02Hmj8POJ
— Southern Man (@MagicBelle1) October 27, 2023
Before the crime, the suspect had an extensive dispute with Billini, his neighbor, the agents and his relatives said.
The two argued constantly over the barking of the woman’s three dogs. Tension escalated earlier this year when she kicked Billini’s dog and threatened her with a hammer, according to charges filed earlier in Manhattan Supreme Court.
After Moore was arrested on robbery charges, Billini managed to obtain a protective order against him, forcing him to move out of the building, his family said.
The prosecutor said the man in question would face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, “a strong incentive to flee.”
Simply executing Billini after his prior arrest and protective order “shows an absolute lack of respect” for judicial procedures, Steinglass said.
After the murder, Moore boarded a bus and changed his clothes to avoid immediate capture, authorities said.
New York Department investigators were able to identify the subject through a security camera in which he was filmed while using the MetroCard in early October, according to court documents.
Likewise, officials managed to trace his whereabouts to a friend’s house in Glendale Queens, where detectives found the defendant’s clothing and a Glock 9mm pistol. who was identified with the murder weapon.
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