Authorities are trying to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of a Bronx man beaten outside his home with what his fiancée said was a baseball bat during a crazed clash with their landlord.
Landlord Omar Lamoni, 43, and his brother Edwin Nina, 39, appeared in Bronx Criminal Court Monday, charged with assaulting Brittney Shears and her fiancée Kristopher Samaroo, whose body showed signs of blunt force trauma, police said.
The charges may be upgraded after 30-year-old Samaroo’s autopsy results are revealed, said a Bronx prosecutor, who added the attack was caught on surveillance video.
“As a result of their conduct, one of the victims sustained serious physical injuries and was declared deceased at a Bronx hospital,” said Assistant District Attorney Patrick Watts. “The autopsy results are pending and the people pending those results may choose to elevate these charges to higher level felony charges including homicide charges.”
But lawyers for Lamoni and Nina say Samaroo likely suffered a heart attack during the fracas, that he and his fiancee were the ones who started the showdown outside the Throggs Neck duplex and that no baseball bat was used.
“The video will clearly show that these two individuals did not strike this individual about his body with any type of weapons,” said Gary Maclena. “The video will show that Mr. Lamoni was attacked by the deceased and his wife and that Mr. Nina left the location and the attack continued on Mr. Lamoni.”
Maclena said Lamoni had a swollen and bruised face from being kicked in the face by Samaroo and Shears. He said Samaroo regularly taunted Lamoni and Nina about their brother who was murdered in prison.
“What he does is constantly harass my clients, Mr. Lamoni and Mr. Nina, telling them that he is glad their brother is dead and that he will do the same to them,” said Maclena. “Matter of fact this is what he stated to Mr. Nina on the day of this incident.”
The lawyer for the brothers also said Samaroo had been evicted and had no business still being at the Throggs Neck home.
“It is my understanding that this individual should not even be at the location where he resides because he was evicted several months ago,” Maclena said. “But because of family connections he refused to leave.”
Cops responding to a frantic 911 call about an assault around 6:10 p.m. Saturday found Samaroo mortally wounded with blunt force trauma to his body outside his home on the Throggs Neck Expressway near Barkley Ave.
Samaroo’s fiancée, Brittney Shears, told News12 Bronx the victim was severely beaten by their landlord and the landlord’s brother.
“[The landlord’s brother] goes straight to the trunk of his car, grabs a steel bat, runs up my steps to the front of my house, and starts wailing on my husband,” said Shears. “From there, my husband jumps on him. They fall down here onto the ground.”
Shears said her family, including 2-year-old and 6-month-old girls, hadn’t had hot water for months and was partially withholding rent.
Watts requested $100,000 bail for Lamoni and Nina while Mclena asked for his clients to be released without bail.
Judge Deronn Bowen said before he could proceed on deciding bail the defendants would need to return to court later this afternoon when the surveillance video would be available.
“I sincerely think we need to see the video,” said Bowen. “I’ve seen too many instances on both sides where the video shows “X” and we look at it together and it doesn’t show that. I’m hearing different stories.”
