A Harlem drug lord who had grown notorious for snitching against his associates in order to escape a life sentence was reportedly killed due to a road rage confrontation with someone he struck with his car months ago, police revealed on Monday, Feb. 28.
Twenty-seven-year-old Shakeem Parker, who already has a previous charge for gun possession, has been linked to the murder of Alberto “Alpo” Martinez, who he killed after spotting his car in a deli while meeting his brother, according to the New York Daily News.
“There’s no indication that this was anything other than a crime of opportunity,” a source said about the killing. “It looks like they were standing there in front, like, ‘There he is.’”
Martinez, who was under witness protection at the time, was shot five times by Parker. He reportedly drove away from the scene even as he was wounded, throwing away heroin from his window as he drove off the scene, the New York Post reported.
“He leaves a string of heroin packages behind, a few feet apart, as if presumably he knows, ‘I’m shot, the cops are going to come, I don’t want to be caught with all that heroin,’” a source about the killing explained.
He then crashed into another car entirely, falling unconscious. Medics and officers attempted to revive Martinez, but were unsuccessful.
Martinez is notorious for his betrayal of fellow drug dealers in exchange for a more lenient sentence, entering witness protection once he was released. He was famous enough to be portrayed by rapper Cam’ron in the film "Paid in Full."
Many residents in Harlem, who have not yet forgotten Martinez’s betrayal of his associates, celebrated the death of the drug lord with champagne as they saw the killing of Martinez as karmic punishment for snitching on his fellow dealers.
Parker’s next court date is on March 28. His lawyer Robert Harold has declined to comment about his case.
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