By Kevin Deutsch
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A Bronx man and his mother are facing attempted murder charges for allegedly enlisting a hitman to keep a rival from testifying, prosecutors said.
Candido Lizarro, 26, was indicted this week on charges including attempted murder, assault, and gun possession. Lizarro and his mother, Annette Spann, also face conspiracy and criminal solicitation charges.
Lizarro’s troubles began in September when he allegedly shot a man five times in the back in the lobby of a NYCHA building at 1010 East 178thStreet following a dispute, officials said. The male victim survived his wounds.
After the shooting, Lizarro fled the state and enlisted the help of the hitman – in reality, an undercover police detective – to kill the victim, officials said. His aim: to keep the man from testifying about the shooting in court, prosecutors allege.
Lizarro, who communicated with the fake hitman via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, enlisted his mother to give the cop a $1,000 down payment, and to provide him with details about the target’s habits and whereabouts, officials said.
“I need this done man,” Lizarro allegedly said in one message to the hitman, adding that, if it weren’t for the surviving victim, “I wouldn’t be in the jam right now…”
Spann is being held on $150,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail. Lizarro is being held without bail.
Both are are due back in court in February.
“The defendants allegedly enlisted an undercover detective who was posing as a hitman, to allegedly kill a victim who survived being shot five times,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. “The defendants paid $1,000 to the “hitman” as a down payment on the murder. These defendants allegedly tried to silence a victim and subvert our criminal justice system in the most heinous way.”