CCSO assists in Starke, FL capture of NY Times Square shooting suspect
Photo courtesy of CCSO.
Starke, Florida - After a nationwide, four-day search for 31 year-old Farrakhan Muhammad, he was taken into custody, May 12, by members of the United States Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, which included task force members with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. He was taken into custody, without incident, at a McDonald's restaurant located at 802 S Walnut St. in Starke, Florida. When authorities met up with Muhammad, he was sitting inside his vehicle, eating lunch. Starke is located approximately 100 miles north of Citrus County, northeast of Gainesville, in Bradford County, Florida.
Muhammad was wanted by the New York Police Department in connection to a shooting that occurred in Times Square on Saturday, May 8, 2021, during an argument with his brother and others. During the argument, shots were fired that wounded three bystanders, two women and a four year-old girl.
Muhammad will be housed by local authorities until he is taken back to New York for due process of law. On May 13, Muhammad’s girlfriend, Kristine Vergara, who was with him at the McDonald's restauran in Starke, was charged with being an accessory after the fact, with her bond set at $500,000.
According to several news outlets in New York, Muhammad is known for passing bootleg CDs, and he has been arrested approximately ten times since 2007 for crimes that include harrassment, assault, robbery, grand larceny and fraud.
"Arrests such as these are the precise reason why the Citrus County Sheriff's Office partners with federal agencies," said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "Even though the crimes committed by Muhammad occurred more than a thousand miles away, his flight to Florida was thwarted by members of CCSO. Citrus County remains steadfast in our dedication in the fight against crime."
In a press release, the CCSO's media division stated, "Thank you to the brave men and women of the United States Marshals and the New York Police Department. In the week of National Police Week, it is important to remember what law enforcement encounters nationwide to keep America safe."