Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man was initially arrested in the shooting death of a man moments after the second man is accused of shooting to death a third man.
But Natori Russo, 22, won’t face a murder charge for the time being after a grand jury voted only to indict him for illegal weapon possession on the day of the two murders.
Russo is accused of being present at the time of Winston Brown Jr.’s shooting death Oct. 7, 2021 on East Raynor Avenue.
Police say that Winston Brown Jr. was murdered with a bullet to his head moments after he allegedly murdered Kei’Sean Canery, 24, with a bullet to his head.
Russo and another man were later accused of murdering Brown Jr. But the indictment that led to Wednesday’s court appearance only named Russo as a suspect, and only charged him with illegal gun possession on the day and place of the murders.
Prosecutor Jarrett Woodfork was careful not to say anything about the investigation in court, but said that Russo could still “potentially be indicted” for murder in the future.
As for the gun charge, Woodfork said that Russo spoke to Syracuse police and admitted possessing an illegal gun that day. Even without the murder charge, that’s a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Defense lawyer Susan Carey asked a judge to lower bail on Russo, noting that the judge can only consider the actual charges before the court, not any potential future charges.
Cuffy agreed, lowering bail to $75,000 cash or $150,000 bond.
The other man initially charged in Brown Jr.’s murder, Dewayne Brown, faces no indicted charges in connection to the slaying. However, he remains jailed on other charges.
Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-6070.
Ad Choices