Victim In Westchester County Shooting Allegedly Tied To Lucrative Scheme

At the beginning of the week, law enforcement from the New Rochelle Police Department were alerted to a shooting that occurred at a local public housing complex. From the moment law enforcement arrived on the scene, this case has been incredibly fast moving, with law enforcement identifying and taking into custody several suspects.

This investigation however has managed to collide with another investigation that was being carried out by law enforcement in the state of Connecticut as the victim in this shooting was alleged to have been involved in a lucrative online scheme. In fact, the victim was supposed to be in Connecticut Court this week as part of that investigation.

This revelation now has many wondering if it's possible that these separate investigations are now linked in more ways than one?

Homicide Investigation in New Rochelle

As previously mentioned, the shooting in New Rochelle occurred earlier this week on Monday January 6, 2025. According to the press release from the New Rochelle Police Department, they'd received calls for the shooting shortly before 11am, to which they immidiately responded.

Upon arrival, officers located the victim later identified as 22-year old David Smith, with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Officers provided medical aide to Smith where he was later transported to a local hospital. Unfortunately, Smith did not survive his injuries and was later pronounced deceased.

Almost immidiately upon the arrival of New Rochelle Detectives, several suspects were identified in the investigation and subsequently those suspects were taken into custody. Those suspects were identified as...

• Ali Mohammed, 21 years of age, of Mount Vernon, NY
• Marquis Williamson, 21 years of age, of Newark, NJ
• Amiri Oneal, 21 years of age, of Mount Vernon, NY
• Anthony Webster, 20 years of age, of Mount. Vernon, NY
• Tommy Guest, 21 years of age, of Mount Vernon

Original Coverage: Homicide Investigation in Westchester County Leads to Arrests of Multiple Suspects

It was stated that the individuals involved knew the victim Smith, however it was unclear to what extent they knew him. It was also stated that the entire altercation leading to the shooting was over a type of dispute but what that dispute was was also unclear.

DoorDash Scheme Investigation

As news of this incident began to spread, news regarding another investigation taking place in the state of Connecticut also began to pick up steam. This is due to the victim in the shooting, David Smith, originally being scheduled to appear in Connecticut State Superior Court on Wednesday January 9, 2025, for a hearing on whether or not he would accept a plea deal.

That plea deal was part of an investigation where Smith was alleged to have carried out a scam targeting DoorDash drivers across the country many of them located in California. According to reports from the Stanford Advocate, Smith was facing charges of first-degree larceny, third-degree identity theft, two counts of second-degree forgery, trafficking in personal identifying information and first-degree computer crime.

According to the report, Smith allegedly was able to mimic the food-delivery app's support function, which then allowed him access to DoorDash drivers accounts and then empty the accounts of money. According to investigators in that case, they believe Smith made out with approximately $950,000 in the scheme.

Stamford Police first became aware of the alleged scheme and began investigating 2 years ago after responding to a reported domestic violence incident. According to the arrest warrant affidavit for Smith in that case, he was charged with third-degree assault of a pregnant person, risk of injury to a minor, second-degree strangulation and disorderly conduct.

When police searched that residence they recovered a 9mm handgun with an extended 16-round magazine and also found more than $52,000 around the apartment, several payment cards in a trash can, several cellphones, two different California driver licenses and five safes, one of which was confirmed to contain more money.

Currently, New Rochelle Police are still investigating the shooting and more information is expected in the future. Police have also stated that the dispute between Smith and the other parties was over money. Investigators have not ruled out a connection between the homicide and the DoorDash scheme, however they have also not definitively connected the two investigations either.