Gang member who did time for manslaughter arrested for shooting fellow ex-con to death in Brooklyn
A gang member who did time for manslaughter has been arrested for shooting a fellow ex-con to death in Brooklyn, police said Tuesday.
Harvey French was picked up at his home in the Brownsville Houses and charged with murder and criminal use of a firearm for the April shooting of 56-year-old James Huff. French, 51, was also charged with drug possession for a large twist of crack found when he was arrested, police said.
Huff was shot in the chest outside the Brownsville Houses on Blake Ave. near Rockaway Ave. about 6:30 p.m. on April 18.
Medics rushed Huff to Brookdale University Hospital, where he died. Huff had drugs on him at the time, police said, and investigators are eyeing drugs as a possible motive for the murder.
The killer drove off in a Nissan sedan.
French was held without bail following an arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Huff, also known as Charles Garth, lived about a half mile from where he was shot.
Huff served three terms in state prison for drug dealing and weapon possession convictions in the 1990s and was most recently arrested on drug charges in 2018.
French, who police say is part of the Brownsville Money gang, also did three stints in state prison, most notably nine years ending in 2007 for manslaughter, records show.
Before that, he served about four years for weapons and robbery convictions, records show.
