2 charged in double homicide on State Street in Rochester
UPDATE (Sept. 9, 2022): Two men were arrested, accused of shooting two men to death on State Street in March, Rochester police announced Friday morning.
Marique Simkin, 24, and Harry Phelps, 32, were each charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, said Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police Department.
Simkin, who was one of two men who was shot during the March 13 altercation and survived, is accused of fatally shooting Lonnie Keys Jr., 28, Umbrino said. Phelps is accused of shooting Simkin and of killing Charles Robinson, 31, during the encounter. Both men will be arraigned Friday in City Court. Additional charges are pending.
Simkin has been in custody since June 11 after he was arrested on several warrants that stemmed from two vehicle pursuits. Phelps was apprehended on Thursday.
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UPDATE (March 16, 2022): Rochester police have identified two men shot to death on State Street early Sunday morning as Charles Robinson, 31, and Lonnie Keys, 28. Both men were Rochester residents.
Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police Department said that the two other men shot during the incident are recovering from their injuries at Strong Memorial Hospital. The men are in their 20s and their names were not released.
Police continue to investigate the double homicide. No charges have been filed in connection with the shooting.
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ORIGINAL STORY (March 13, 2022): A multiple shooting that left two dead, a violent climax to a particularly deadly five-day stretch, brought Rochester city officials out Sunday for a similar refrain — a pledge that many steps are being taken to stem the wave of bloodshed.
The two homicides early Sunday morning came only two days after a brazen daytime shooting, in which a 17-year-old was shot after getting off his school bus on Friday afternoon. And, as Interim Police Chief David Smith noted at a news conference Sunday, a 30-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday as he tried to stave off an apparent robbery-carjacking after leaving work.
The city has seen 12 homicides this year, which puts the city on pace for about 60 homicides — a lesser number than the record of 81 last year. However, summer months tend to be a more violent time span, and the recent homicide spate could be a harbinger of things to come without successful intervention.
"We cannot wait; summer is coming," Mayor Malik Evans said at a news conference Sunday. "You see what's happening in the wintertime."
On Sunday Evans called a news conference to highlight law enforcement initiatives, including a collaborative focus with other agencies in more troubled neighborhoods, and increased youth opportunities. The city hopes to provide hundreds of summer jobs for city youth through a program called Summer of Opportunity, which is taking applications through March 25.
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The city is continuing to partner with the State Police, state Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, federal officials, and the District Attorney's Office to target more violent neighborhoods and recalcitrant offenders.
"You will see an unprecedented partnership with all of our partners," Evans said.
Evans said federal law enforcement will work hand-in-hand to try to stifle guns flowing into the area from states with more lenient firearms purchase laws. But, while those guns do show up at some area crime scenes, a bigger problem has been stolen guns that become a major segment of the weapons pipeline.
Smith acknowledged this Sunday, saying, "A large percentage of our guns ... still come from New York state legitimate gun owners," he said, imploring gun owners to ensure their firearms are safely secured.
Officials also highlighted the continued work of Pathways to Peace and other anti-violence organizations, as Victor Saunders, the city's violence prevention adviser, urged people to "put your guns down."
Residents should be willing to encourage friends and relatives to find ways to resolve conflict without violence, Saunders said. Research shows that many homicides involve individuals who know each other.
Sunday's double homicide may well fall into that category, as two were killed at 471 State St., the site of an after-hours club.
Two other men were also shot and are in stable condition at Strong Memorial Hospital, according to Rochester police.
The multi-unit building at 471 State Street includes the Mile High Hookah Lounge. Police are investigating if that was the site of the shootings.
The report of the shootings came in to police around 1:50 a.m. "Prior to police arrival on scene additional information was obtained that multiple people had been shot," according to a statement from Police Capt. Ryan Tauriello.
At the scene police found one man, in his 20s, who had been shot. He was transported to Strong, but died from his injuries. Three other men were taken to Strong in "private vehicles," according to police, and one of them — a man in his 30s — also died.
Also last week:
• 17-year-old Bryson Simpson was fatally shot Friday after leaving his school bus. He and three friends had gotten off the school bus and were walking on Otis Street when an individual fatally shot Simpson, then ran away. No one else in Simpson's group was shot. The killing happened outside 184 Otis St. around 2:45 p.m.
• 30-year-old Shafi Mutombo was fatally shot shortly after midnight Tuesday on Peckham Street. He had just finished his shift at work and was driving a co-worker home when someone confronted the pair in an apparent attempted robbery/carjacking, police said.
During an altercation, Mutombo was fatally shot. His passenger was not injured. The car was not taken from the scene.
(Includes reporting by staff writer Victoria Freile)
Contact Gary Craig at gcraig@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at gcraig1.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 2 charged in double homicide on State St. in Rochester N.Y.
