Fugitive in heist of Brooklyn ‘Bling Bishop’ is killed in NJ motel shootout with feds; bishop calls death ‘a travesty’

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.

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