Police arrested two Mount Vernon men for an unsolved January murder that took place in the city.
Kemar Tapping, 19, and Meshach Hewitt, 21, are charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 36-year-old Garfield Payne, of the Bronx. Police responded to a call of an accident near South 6th Avenue and West 7th Street in Mount Vernon on January 27. When officers arrived, they found Payne shot once in the chest. Police say the two suspects and the victim had plans to meet. They believe a drug deal was involved.
Police have not yet recovered the 9 mm handgun used to kill Payne. Tapping has a prior arrest for attempted robbery and Hewitt, who is currently on probation, has 16 pending charges against him.