One of the men suspected of robbing a Brooklyn preacher during a live-streamed Sunday service in 2022 was fatally shot by U.S. marshals in New Jersey.
Upon learning of the incident, the minister, who was allegedly victimized to the tune of $1 million, expressed his willingness to officiate the man’s funeral free of charge.
Shamar Leggette, 41, was fatally shot by law enforcement at MHO Inn and Suites in South Brunswick during a Wednesday, Jan. 24, shootout. U.S. marshals and the New York office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attempted to execute an arrest warrant for multiple felony offenses, leading to a two-hour standoff and a violent altercation.
The controversial Bishop Lamor Whitehead extended an invitation to the deceased man’s family to reach out to him for support during this difficult time.
A career criminal, Leggette was one of three who stormed into Whitehead’s Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie on July 24, 2022, while the preacher was delivering his Sunday sermon, robbing the preacher and his wife at gunpoint while on the church’s Facebook Live.
The footage of the incident quickly went viral. It showed the flashy pastor, who counts Mayor Eric Adams as a mentor and friend, terrified as the men rushed in. The assailants came to the front of the sanctuary and forcefully demanded Whitehead’s jewelry and money, with video capturing the unsettling moment as the pastor dropped to the floor in the church’s pulpit.
According to NYPD, Whitehead said the thieves got away with a $390,000 Cuban link chain, a $200,000 men’s gold chain, a $125,000 wedding ring, and several other high-value pieces.
The controversial designer-dressing Whitehead, who was also accused of stealing from members of his congregation and work partners, was livid that he was violated.
However, two years later, he seems to have had a change of heart.
“I forgive him, and I do want to extend my services to the family,” Whitehead said on his Instagram Live on Wednesday evening after hearing news of Leggette’s death. “I would eulogize him. I will preach the service. Whatever I can do in a pastor’s capacity, I will do it, free of charge.”
The caption of the post was, “The police just killed the third suspect of the church robbery. Tune in.”
As he talked about Leggette’s death, the minister, dressed in a black jacquard Gucci jacket and smiling broadly, sat in his office playing Vashawn Mitchell’s “Turning Around for Me” while telling people to share.
The smile was so bright that one person in the live comments asked if he was “celebrating,” to which he replied, “I am not celebrating nothing.”
During his video, he said that Leggette “was the guy that put the gun in my wife’s face and put the gun in my 8-month-old daughter’s face,” and added, “this is the guy that was at large, and he came and put the gun to my head and ripped my clergy collar off and ripped my chains off and he was just brutal.”
After the news outlets picked up on his livestream and reported on it, he returned to Instagram with a message different than his “breaking news” announcement.
This caption, posted on Thursday, Jan. 25, read, “My Public Condolences To The Family Of Shamar Leggette The Third Person That Robbed My Church Was Killed By Police” and tagged 11 different news or gossip blog sites.
This video was different and did not have a music background. Instead, he opened it with a doxological greeting, “Grace and peace from God, Our Father, the Lord, Jesus Christ.”
He went on to explain that he was recording this video and was sincere when he said that he forgave Leggette and was praying for his family, adding that “God has the ultimate last say.”
Whitehead also took the time to say that he has been “vindicated” of allegations that he “set up the robbery.”
Leggette’s rap sheet is lengthy. He served time for robbery, attempted murder, and weapons possession, including a seven-year bid for the armed robbery of NBA player Chris Childs in 2002. Some of the other crimes he was wanted for included shooting and robbing a man of $50,000 worth of jewelry in Rhode Island in August 2023.
While the other two men who robbed Whitehead’s church have both pleaded guilty to the crime, Leggette remained at large until his standoff with the U.S. marshals on Wednesday.
The U.S. Marshals Office has not released a formal statement about the death.
