The suspected gunman in Monday’s fatal shooting in New Rochelle turned himself in to city detectives Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Ali Mohammed, 21, of Mount Vernon, surrendered at police headquarters just after 1 p.m. and was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the death of David Smith, 22, of Mount Vernon, who was gunned down on Rhoda Quash Lane late Monday morning.
Authorities said they are still investigating but have found no clear link between the shooting and Smith’s alleged role in a nearly $1 million scam that targeted DoorDash drivers. Smith had been due in a Connecticut court Wednesday to say whether he would accept a plea deal on grand larceny and identity theft charges, the Danbury News Times reported.
Police investigate a shooting on Lincoln Avenue Jan. 6, 2025 in New Rochelle.
New Rochelle shooting victim was suspect in scheme targeting DoorDash drivers
According to an affidavit obtained by the newspaper, Smith was suspected of pocketing about $950,000 from as many as 700 DoorDash drivers by gaining access to their delivery revenue through an elaborate phishing scheme and altering their bank information so he could transfer the money to payment cards.
The scheme was detected in early 2023 when Smith was arrested on a domestic violence charge at a Stamford apartment and police found $700,000 and a large number of payment cards.
Mohammed is expected to be arraigned in New Rochelle City Court on Thursday.
Three others charged in the New Rochelle case were arraigned earlier Wednesday. Marquis Williamson, of Newark, and Amiri Oneal of Mount Vernon, both 21, are also charged with second-degree murder. Anthony Webster, 20, of Mount Vernon is charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Police believe Ali Mohammed and David Smith knew each other
Police said they believe Smith and Mohammed knew each other and that the shooting stemmed from some kind of dispute between the two. According to the criminal complaint against Williamson and Oneal, the two held Smith and brought him to the ground while an “unapprehended individual” — who police now identify as Mohammed — shot Smith multiple times.
Webster was with a second group in the same location that allegedly robbed an associate of Smith’s at the same time Smith was shot. The complaint against Webster accuses him of holding a 9mm Taurus handgun to the man’s head while the others went through the man’s pockets and removed a cell phone, keys and a credit card.
The others suspected in the robbery are still being sought.
Oneal suffered a gunshot wound to the hand when Smith was shot and was arrested Monday after going to a Bronx hospital for treatment.
Captain J. Collins Coyne, commanding officer of the New Rochelle detective division, said Mohammed became a suspect shortly after the shooting and that there was an “exhaustive” search for him over two days, mostly in New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and Yonkers.
The 9mm Taurus and two other guns were recovered during the investigation. That includes the one police believe Mohammed used to shoot Smith, Coyne said, although that is pending results of ballistics tests.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New Rochelle NY police arrest suspected gunman in fatal shooting