New York City Parks Department employee charged with hate crime against Venezuelan migrant

A New York City Parks Department employee has been charged in the fatal hate-motivated shooting of a Venezuelan migrant, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday.

Elijah Mitchell, 23, of Queens, faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the July 21 murder of 30-year-old Arturo Jose Rodriguez Marcano at Steuben Playground near Flushing Avenue and Steuben Street in Brooklyn.

“This defendant allegedly came to the location of the victim armed to settle a score,” Gonzalez said. “This premeditated and cold-blooded murder is outrageous on many levels, not least because the alleged motive was hatred toward newcomers to our city.”

In his statement, Gonzalez concluded that the “horrific case” justified “these aggravated charges” to “send a strong message that hate crimes will never be tolerated in Brooklyn.”

According to the prosecutor, a heated argument broke out between Mitchell and Rodriguez Marcano on July 18 over a migrant tent in the park. Mitchell then began to rant about the camp and began to tear down the tarps.

On July 21, 2024, a man was shot and killed in Steuben Park at the corner of Steuben St. and Flushing Ave. in Brooklyn. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)

Mitchell then retreated to his car, but returned and confronted Rodriguez Marcano by lifting up his shirt and revealing a gun – but prosecutors say he was restrained by other park employees. Three days later, while he was off-duty, Mitchell went back to the park and shot Rodriguez Marcano in the chest while he was sleeping, prosecutors say.

Police initially said they believed the killing was connected to a fatal shooting of two men outside a Clinton Hill migrant shelter on Ryberson St. near Clinton Hill that occurred minutes before Rodriguez Maracano's killing. The shootings were later determined to be unrelated.

Mitchell was arraigned Wednesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court on charges including hate crime murder and hate crime menacing. He was held on bail of $350,000 cash or $2.5 million surety bond.