NEW YORK, NY – Two men have been indicted in the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man and the wounding of a bystander during a brazen daytime attack inside a Harlem public housing courtyard this summer.
The suspects, Barshon Jamison, 34, and James Lattimore, 33, are accused of killing Hamid Thomas on July 14 outside the Drew-Hamilton Houses near West 142nd Street and Seventh Avenue.
Prosecutors say the pair waited in ambush before firing multiple rounds at Thomas, striking him several times as he rode his scooter through the courtyard.
A woman, who was trying to flee the scene, was grazed by a bullet in the chaos.
Courtyard ambush
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the shooting followed an earlier altercation between the suspects and Thomas that same morning. After the fight, Jamison allegedly returned to his nearby apartment, changed clothes, and donned a ski mask before lying in wait with Lattimore.
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At about 2:40 p.m., as Thomas entered the courtyard, Jamison opened fire from near a church at the end of the walkway. The bullets struck Thomas in the torso and arm, fatally wounding him. The woman who was hit was later treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Escape and arrests
The defendants fled eastbound on West 143rd Street after the shooting, according to prosecutors. Jamison was arrested in Rochester on August 27, while Lattimore was taken into custody in New York City on October 2.
Jamison’s sister has also been charged with helping him escape Manhattan by car shortly after the killing.
Charges and prosecution
Both men face charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and multiple counts of Assault. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, under the supervision of senior members of the trial division.
Investigators from the NYPD’s 32nd Precinct Detective Squad, including Detective Cristian Balbi, were credited with assisting in the arrests.
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Authorities say Thomas, described as a lifelong New Yorker, was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the shooting.
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