Ex-Girlfriend Faces Life In Prison For Park Slope Killing: DA

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A woman accused of shooting her ex-girlfriend point blank on a Park Slope street in broad daylight earlier this year could face life in prison, according to prosecutors.

Latisha Bell, 38, was arraigned Monday on an indictment stemming from the April 21 shooting, when she walked up behind Nichelle Thomas near a deli on Fourth Avenue and St. Marks Place and shot her in the head, according to police and court papers.

The indictment charges Bell, who turned herself in hours after the shooting, with second-degree murder and two weapons charges and follows an criminal court arraignment in April, prosecutors said.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said Monday that she faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count

“This broad-daylight shooting tragically cut short the life of a beloved mother and a treasured member of a local neighborhood and faith-based community," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "The horrific violence this defendant allegedly committed was shocking and senseless."

Thomas was a mother of two and a grandmother who was in graduate school to become a social worker. She was also a prominent and active member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, according to the DA.

Bell's arrest came after cops found surveillance video that showed the moment she, rushing past a bystander, came up to Thomas and pulled out a gun as she reached for the deli door. Thomas immediately fell to the ground, according to court papers.

Bell turned herself in a few hours after the shooting at the 78th Precinct, telling officers, ""I am turning myself in for the homicide, the gun is inside the bag," according to court papers.

Police recovered a .38 caliber revolver, prosecutors said.

Gonzalez encouraged anyone experiencing violence or abuse at the hands of an intimate partner or a former partner to contact the trained counselors of our Victim Services Unit at 718-250-3820.