SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A man wanted for the high-profile robbery of Brooklyn’s so-called “Bling Bishop” was reportedly killed Wednesday in a shootout with federal law enforcement at a New Jersey motel—with the bishop calling the death of his alleged robber “a travesty.”
Shamar Leggette, 41, had been wanted for his role in the July 24, 2022, robbery of Bishop Lamor Whitehead during a service at the Tomorrow International Ministry on Remsen Avenue in Canarsie. The heist received widespread news coverage, as it was captured on a livestream of the service and involved the theft of more than $1 million in jewelry from Whitehead and his wife.
While the two other men involved in the robbery were apprehended weeks later, Leggette had been on the run for the past 18 months with his girlfriend. The fugitive pair referred to themselves as “Bonnie and Clyde.”
Wednesday’s shootout happened around 2 p.m. at MHO Inn and Suites on Route 1 South in Monmouth Junction, South Brunswick, according to the state attorney general’s office. While the A.G. did not identify Leggette as the man killed, law enforcement sources told multiple outlets, including NJ.com, that it was him.
Members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, including the U.S. Marshals and ATF, were executing a felony arrest warrant at the motel when the man they were after—said to be Leggette—came out shooting just after 2:45 p.m., the attorney general’s office said.
Leggette was shot in the ensuing “exchange of gunfire” with officers and ultimately pronounced dead around 4:30 p.m., according to the A.G. Two firearms were recovered near his body, officials said.
No officers were hit during the shootout. A woman believed to be Leggette’s girlfriend was arrested at the scene.
Whitehead, 45, told 1010 WINS late Wednesday that he holds no ill will towards Leggette—and even offered to eulogize him for free at his upcoming funeral, despite him being “the one who put the gun in my wife’s face and took off all her jewelry.”
“For him to die is just a travesty. It’s bad. It’s really bad. It’s nowhere near celebration. I’m sure he has children. I’m sure he had a family that loves him,” the bishop said.
“I forgive the young man and I want to be able to help his family,” he said. “I would love to sit down with them and reconcile and talk to them and let them know that I have no animosity.”
As for Whitehead, he’s still under federal investigation after he was indicted for wire fraud and extortion in December 2022. He faces decades in prison if convicted on all counts.