The sister of a 34-year-old man shot to death leaving a Bronx lounge said the killer has left a void in the family’s collective heart.
“They really took a good man off the face of this world for nonsense,” Mahogany Covington, 42, said of her brother, Darnell Johnson. “I’m gonna stand up for my brother ’cause he can’t stand up for himself anymore.”
An argument broke out as Johnson and a friend, Phillip Williams were leaving the 10:02 Lounge on E. Tremont Ave. near Mapes Ave. in Crotona around 3 a.m. Saturday, stopping to talk to two women, police said. A dispute with other men arose, according to cops.
Johnson and Williams, 33, got into a gray Nissan SUV — but someone from the other group blasted at them with a gun, police said.
Johnson, hit a number of times, was found slumped over the wheel at E. 179th St. and Mapes Ave.. There were three bullet holes in the driver’s side door, according to cops.
Medics rushed Johnson to St. Barnabas Hospital, but he could not be saved.
Williams was struck in the right arm, got out of the car and jumped into a cab. He was rushed to Bronx Lebanon Hospital and is recovering from his injury.
Police later learned that a 23-year-old man had been slashed in the face outside the lounge, an assault that appears to be connected to the shooting.
No arrests have been made.
Johnson’s girlfriend of two years, Tiffany Simpson and her mother both suspect Johnson was trying to tamp down whatever tensions arose.
“He had no beef with anyone,” said Simpson, 28. “He was not a person to incite.
“He would make a joke before starting a fight.”
Johnson was one of seven kids, the second oldest of four brothers, and was known affectionately as “Capo.”
“My 19-year-old daughter is having the hardest time right now because she lost her uncle,” Covington said.
Simpson, 28, attested to Covington’s love of family, noting how special he made her daughter feel.
“He treated her like his own daughter,” she said, showing the Daily News an Instagram photo of the child playing a video game with Johnson.
“How am I going to tell my baby pa is gone” Johnson captioned the image, adding a tear emoji.
