Queens Man Who Fatally Shot 22-Year-Old In Weed Sale Pleads Guilty: DA

QUEENS — A Queens man pleaded guilty to killing a 22-year-old man at a park in Jamaica after a weed sale went awry nearly three years ago, prosecutors said.

Torren King, 20, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Numani Lambert in Rufus King Park in the afternoon of October 15, 2020, after a dispute over a marihuana exchange arranged online, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Wednesday.

King, from Edgemere, faces 29 years in prison for manslaughter and weapons charges, Katz said.

Chance Goode and Jabari Curtis were also arrested and are awaiting trial, prosecutors said.

Lambert, from The Bronx, was at the park with two friends after arranging a meetup with the dealer to buy weed via Facebook, the district attorney said. They sent a message to the dealer online, who said he was sending other people to execute the transaction, Katz said.

King arrived with two other men, and the groups started fighting over the money before the Queens man pulled out a gun and shot Lambert in the head, prosecutors said.

Lambert spent three days at a nearby hospital before he died, the district attorney said.

Authorities identified Goode as the online dealer, searched his home, and found a 9mm Luger with nine rounds of ammunition, Katz said.

Goode sent King to rob the three and told Curtis to drive King to the park, wait for him to rob them, and then pick him up, prosecutors said.