Cousin suspected as ringleader in caught-on-camera murder of Brooklyn laundromat owner: prosecutors
BROOKLYN, New York (WABC) -- Five men from Queens have been indicted for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, and other charges in connection to the caught-on-camera murder of a laundromat owner in East Flatbush, Brooklyn last December.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the indictment Tuesday, which alleges the victim's cousin, Ronnie Butler, 46, plotted the assassination of 37-year-old Money Perkins with a friend, who is accused of recruiting his teenage stepson and two of the stepson's friends to commit the deadly assault.
"This was a shocking execution of a local businessman, friend, brother, and beloved father, which is all the more tragic as it was allegedly planned by his own cousin," District Attorney Gonzalez said. "A thorough investigation by the NYPD and my office unraveled the conspiracy and solved this horrific crime. We will now seek to hold all the defendants accountable."
According to the investigation, Butler and Perkins had a long-running dispute dating back to when the victim opened his laundromat in 2022.
Prosecutors say in November 2023, Butler allegedly asked his friend Louis Mercado, 48, to help him kill the victim. Mercado allegedly recruited his stepson, who brought along Shaleek Riddick, 19, and Diante Stinson, 20, to help in committing the crime.
On December 1, 2023, just before 6 p.m., Perkins was ambushed by four assailants, all armed with handguns, inside his laundromat, Money P. Clean, located on Clarendon Road.
Last month, officers arrested Butler, along with Riddick, Mercado, Diante Stinson and 16-year-old Zecharyah Slay in connection to the brutal murder.
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