LLOYD
Gunfire tragedy.
‘#@*% PUNK!’ Rondell Pinkerton, 17, who allegedly confessed to firing a .45-caliber gun in a Bronx playground, is escorted by cops yesterday. He was despised by his neighbors even before the killing. (
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A 17-year-old described by neighbors as a “demon” and “f—ing punk” was charged with murder yesterday in the death of a 4-year-old Bronx boy at a charity basketball game.
Rondell Pinkerton “deserves what he got,” said a man who knows him from the same Morrisania housing project where little Lloyd Morgan was shot in the head and two others were wounded Sunday night.
“He is a f—ing punk. He is a bad kid. He has a bad attitude.”
A woman who also knows Pinkerton from the Forest Houses said, “I have no sympathy for him. He is the devil. He is a demon. Some kids are bad and disrespectful — he is one of them.”
Authorities yesterday also charged Courtney Kelly with weapons possession in the shooting — which occurred during a hoops game in memory of Kelly’s sister, who was murdered in 2010.
Kelly, 26, was shot in the stomach during the gunfight. He also was charged with failing to report to his parole officer for a prior robbery conviction.
A witness named Luis told The Post that Kelly had been coaching one of the hoops teams when the gunfight began, and, “When he heard the shooting, he ran towards the park” and knocked a “baby [who] was in the line of fire” to the ground.
“That’s when he got shot — he took the bullet for the baby,” said Luis, who added, “I saw no gun on him.”
But Pinkerton claims that he opened fire Sunday evening only because Kelly and another man drew on him first.
“As I entered the park, I was handed a .45-caliber handgun,” Pinkerton told investigators, according to Assistant District Attorney Leah Takantzas.
“Courtney [Kelly] and ‘Stormy’ started shooting at me, and I returned fire with the .45 caliber I had.”
Pinkerton stood emotionless in Bronx Criminal Court as he listened to the prosecutor read his confession. His lawyer, David Narain, said his client is “sad, he’s remorseful.” The lawyer would not say why he had the .45-caliber handgun.
Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli