People left flowers and other items at a makeshift memorial in front of the store where Bubacarr Camera was killed.
The U.S. Attorney’s office announced on Wednesday that one of the men arrested for killing an Upper West Side shopkeeper last June has pleaded guilty. Stephen Adams, a 28-year-old from the Bronx, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to shooting Bubacarr Camera inside BNC General Merchandise, a t-shirt and gift store on 104th street and Amsterdam Avenue. Adams also admitted to robbing a Harlem business two days before the shooting. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, and could serve a life sentence.
Camera was 26 and had recently moved to the Bronx from Gambia, where he had a wife and child.
We’re still awaiting more details about the plea, but it indicates that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is not pursuing the death penalty, which had been one option when Adams was initially charged.
The other two people accused in the killing are Zubearu Bettis and Michael Adams. We’re checking on whether the death penalty remains an option in their cases. It’s also not clear whether this means Adams will testify against his co-defendants. We’ll update this story if we learn more.
We interviewed Bubacarr’s father, who owns the store, last year.
