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ESB Shooter Returned His Apt. Keys, "I'm Not Going To Be Back"
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 27, 2012
Modified Aug 27, 2012
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Alex Redlus
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 27, 2012
Modified Aug 27, 2012
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Yesterday, it was suggested that being evicted from his Upper East Side apartment was the 'final straw" for Jeffrey Johnson, who fatally shot his former boss in Midtown on Friday. Now the Daily News reports that Johnson had been subletting the one-bedroom: The place "was about to be renovated, so the owner needed him to move out temporarily, a police source said... [On Friday] He left his keys behind in an envelope, having assured the co-op owner that relocating posed no problem. 'I’m not going to be back after Friday anyway,' Johnson said, according to the police source."
It's believed that Johnson, a fashion designer, blamed Steve Ercolino, the VP of sales at Hazan Imports, for not drumming up business, causing Hazan to lay off Johnson. The pair's issues with each other turned physical after Johnson left the company: Johnson, who was visiting the offices on West 33rd Street, had elbowed Ercolino. A co-worker recalled to the Times, "Steve had finally had enough, so he grabbed Jeff by the throat, and said, ‘If you ever do anything like this again, I’m going to kill you.’" They both filed police reports against one another.
On Friday, Johnson, who had been hiding near a van, approached Ercolino as he was walking into the office building at 10 West 33rd Street and shot him in the head. Then Johnson ran towards Fifth Avenue and up towards 34th Street, but was shot dead five time by police officers.
Aside from his interactions with Ercolino, Johnson has been described as a nice, if solitary, man who was fond of animals, from his own cats to red-tailed hawks. The News adds, "Police were preparing Sunday to comb through files on his computers, hoping to unearth more clues into the killing on W. 33rd St. Contrary to published reports, Johnson was not facing eviction, police sources said."
Tagged
empire state building shooting
hazan imports
jeffrey johnson
midtown shooting
shooting
steve ercolino
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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