A 19-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for the targeted killing of a Brooklyn father of three in a Bronx apartment building lobby three years ago, cops said.
Thomas Padilla was 17 when he gunned down Trevor Roberts, 33, inside the E. 174th St. building near Fteley Ave. in Soundview at 3:30 p.m. on March 10, 2023, cops said.
Padilla is charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. His arraignment remained pending on Wednesday.
The teen gunman staked out the building lobby where Roberts’ mother-in-law lived before confronting the victim as he stepped off the elevator, cops said. The pair argued briefly before Padilla drew his weapon and fired, striking Roberts once in the heart.
The shooter then fired another two rounds to scare off witnesses before fleeing, police said.
Wounded, the dad staggered back into the elevator and rode it to the 10th floor, where he collapsed in the hallway.
A family friend told the Daily News that Roberts had likely just dropped off his kids at their grandmother’s apartment in the building when he was killed.
Medics rushed Roberts to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“He turned his life around. He was a good, hardworking man that took care of his three kids,” said the family friend, who wished to remain nameless. “He was a construction worker. He worked in demolition.”
Roberts lived in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, cops said.
Padilla had no criminal record prior to his arrest Wednesday.
