A dispute over the cost of car repairs in Canarsie ended in a fatal shooting that killed 51-year-old mechanic Dexton Simpson. The incident took place on September 29, 2017, at Total Auto Care on East 98th Street. Surveillance video from the shop shows a customer, 35-year-old Richard Essor of Flatbush, leaving after Simpson told him he didn’t have the money to refund the repair. Essor returned shortly afterward with a semi-automatic pistol, stood over Simpson as he crouched working on a vehicle, fired two shots into his chest, and then shot him a third time in the back as Simpson tried to flee. Essor then left the shop and drove away.

Investigators identified Essor as the suspect and located him the next morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Jamaica; he was arrested with more than $1,600 in cash. Charges filed included second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. What information can anyone who knew Simpson or who was near Total Auto Care that night add to the record?