Thomas Abreu was arraigned Monday via closed circuit TV from his bed at a Queens hospital, where he was held without bail.
[Ads /]
He is facing charges in the Saturday shooting that left an 86-year-old man dead and three others injured. At least 100 people attended the funeral Monday for the victim, Hamoo Saeidi.
According to family members, the procession happened to fulfill his last wish.
Talking to Eyewitness News, members of the family recalled Saeidi telling them that when he passed, he wanted the community to gather in prayer - never imagining it would be under these circumstances.
"All we need right now is justice for our father," said Ahmed Saeidi, son of the victim.
The 86-year-old great-grandfather was walking to a mosque Saturday morning.
That's when Abreu, while riding a scooter, allegedly opened fire, shooting and killing Saeidi.
Prosecutors said Abreu made paranoid statements following his arrest.
"The Russians are after me, the Chinese are after me, the Italians are after me, Africa is after me," he told detectives.
[Ads /]
"You are all wearing earpieces," he complained to them
Abreu admitted he rode around Brooklyn and Queens armed a 9mm weapon, but said it wasn't his.
"I was jumped before and someone dropped a bag and when I looked there was a gun and I took it and I kept it since," he claimed.
In a rambling statement delivered through a Spanish interpreter at the beginning of the hearing, Abreu said:
"I think they want to kill me or murder. Everybody says that I'm innocent. That's the best problem that there is. I need my innocence first of all. I'm told that I'm innocent. It's the truth. I was not free but everybody tells me I'm innocent."
[Ads /]
"Mr. Abreu, are you coherent enough to follow these proceedings today? You keep on closing your eyes. Are you alert enough to go forward?" Judge Scott Dunn asked at one point.
Abreu said he was.
ALSO READ | Orange County flooding leaves 1 dead as torrential rain falls on Hudson Valley
1 woman killed in Orange County flooding, State of Emergency remains
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* More New York City news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube