Suspects still at large in robbery shooting
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
Newsday
EAST FLATBUSH, N.Y. — An off-duty correction officer was shot dead outside his East Flatbush home early yesterday during a confrontation with two men trying to steal his motorcycle, authorities said.
Officer Kenny Duncan was killed after he tried to talk the suspects out of the robbery, identifying himself as a correction officer, according to Norman Seabrook, head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association.
But one of the suspects pulled out a gun, Seabrook said, as Duncan got out his off-duty 9mm handgun.
Duncan’s two shots missed, but the suspect’s shot struck Duncan in the face, Seabrook said. “I’m hit,” Duncan told a friend with him at the time -- Brandon Powell -- before collapsing to the ground.
Duncan, 40, was pronounced dead a half-hour later at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, and police last night were still looking for the suspects.
Two weapons were recovered shortly after the 3:15 a.m. shooting in a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts but police sources said they appear to be unrelated to Duncan’s slaying.
Duncan lived with his mother and sister and is survived by a 19-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, both of whom live in Florida and were heading back to the city after being notified.
Duncan joined the department of correction in 1990 and had been working for the past 10 years in Manhattan central booking.
“He was an excellent officer, according to everybody I spoke to, from the corrections officer level to the warden,” said correction spokesman Stephen Morello. “He was a stand-up guy, both on the job and off the job.”
Duncan last worked Monday, ending his shift at 9 p.m. and heading to his home on Avenue A, where he and Powell, tinkered with Powell’s yellow motorcycle. At about 3:15 a.m., police said, the suspects approached on foot. The men passed the house, Seabrook said, then returned and tried to steal Duncan’s cherry red Kawasaki ZX14, prompting the confrontation. Police said the men may have also been looking to steal Powell’s bike.
Duncan, who bought the $12,000 bike two years ago, enjoyed working on bikes and cars and was always quick to help out if someone was having engine trouble, friends say.
Neighborhood bikers, many of whom knew Duncan and gathered in grief outside his home, said bike theft is increasingly common.
“The theft ring, they identify a bike they want and then they look for an opportunity to steal it,” said Anthony Herbert, a community activist who once headed a local bike group. “It’s a major thing in the bike community.”
Seabrook said the union was offering a $5,000 reward, “no questions asked,” for information leading to the arrest of Duncan’s killer.
-- Pervaiz Shallwani contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.