Mount Vernon Man With Violent History At Center Of Murder-Suicide

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The Mount Vernon man police say was behind a triple murder and suicide in Brooklyn on Monday night had a violent past, according to criminal records. Joseph McCrimons had previous convictions for manslaughter and two bank robberies in Mount Vernon and Ardsley.

The 43-year-old served time at Sing Sing Correctional in Ossining on a manslaughter conviction following a fatal shooting on Long Island in 1993. The Halloween night violence left a 28-year-old father of five dead after McCrimons shot him in the back while he was taking children trick-or-treating. McCrimons was 18 years old at the time of the shooting. He was released from prison in 2003.

McCrimons once again found himself behind bars after being convicted for back-to-back bank robberies in 2013. According to court records, he robbed a Hudson Valley Bank branch in Mount Vernon, making off with approximately $5,000. Just over two weeks later, he robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Ardsley wearing the exact same disguise as the earlier robbery. At the Ardsley bank, McCrimons threatened to detonate a bomb if the teller didn’t hand over cash.

Police believe McCrimons was at the Brooklyn home of his girlfriend on Monday night to celebrate their daughter’s ninth birthday. It was his young daughter who eventually called the police.

“She was just calling 911, you know, if you can imagine it’s horrific, the 911, saying ‘Daddy was coming over for my birthday, and he shot people,’” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told the New York Post. “And she was weeping and crying [that she] ‘didn’t have presents.’ It was heartbreaking to hear that. We found her hidden in a closet.”

The shootings left the girl’s mother, Rasheeda Barzey, dead. Her other daughters, 16-year-old Chloe Spears and 20-year-old Solei Spears, were also killed. Authorities say McCrimons killed himself a short distance from the Van Dyke public housing units.