Motive in imam’s slaying still a mystery

Morel, 35, of Brooklyn, was arraigned on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal weapon possession, online court records showed.

Investigators hit a snag in their case against the alleged killer of an imam and his aide when a witness failed to identify the suspect in a lineup – and picked someone else, prosecutors revealed in court Thursday.

He faces up to life in prison without parole if he is convicted.

According to the criminal complaint [PDF], Morel shot both victims with a revolver multiple times, including in the backs of their heads.

Boyce said Morel was seen on surveillance video fleeing the area of the shooting in a black GMC Trailblazer right after the two were shot in the head.

Prosecutor Peter McCormack painted a different picture in court of Morel’s actions. As the appearance ended, men in the courtroom yelled to Morel that they loved him.

The shooting deaths of Imam Maulama Akonjee and his assistant, Thara Uddin, roiled the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens and reverberated far beyond those streets.

Police later found the SUV, and when a man – later identified as Morel – got into the auto and was approached by detectives, he rammed their vehicle to try to get away, Boyce said. About 10 minutes later, a auto matching that description struck a bicyclist nearby in Brooklyn. The cyclist took the license plate number down and reported it to police, who in turn tracked the auto to Miller Avenue in Brooklyn.

Morel was taken into custody a day earlier for hitting a bicyclist with his SUV just 10 minutes after the August 13 shooting in Queens, said the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, at a news conference August 15. After officers located the SUV, the suspect rammed a detective’s auto several times in an attempt to escape, but was arrested, Boyce said.

While police continue to investigate whether. Morel was arrested outside a Brooklyn apartment after he intentionally rammed his auto into an unmarked police cruiser trying to block him in, Boyce said.

No motive has been established but Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is not taking the possibility of the act being a hate crime off the table. “Crimes motivated by bias or hate are deplorable and can never be tolerated”. “He was dressed like a Muslim; this was a hate crime”.

The ceremony featured several speakers who said they believed the victims were targeted due to their religion.

Defense attorney Leonard Ressler said Morel adamantly denied any involvement in the shootings, telling the lawyer, “I didn’t do anything”.