A Brooklyn man facing the rest of his life behind bars for the kidnap and murder of a landlord was “definitely not the mastermind” of the heinous crime, a lead detective on the case testified Tuesday.
Kendel Felix is charged with grabbing Menachem Stark from outside his office in Williamsburg during a snowstorm on Jan. 2, 2014.
Felix, the alleged driver, gave authorities a play-by-play of the botched robbery he said was cooked up by his cousin.
The cousin allegedly said he wanted to rob Stark because “he has a lot of money and we can get a lot of money,” said Felix in the videotaped statement played during a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday.
The 29-minute video and written statements given on April 29 and 30, 2014 were the subject of a hearing that will determine whether they were obtained lawfully by the police and are allowed to be used as evidence at trial, which is slated for the end of August.
NYPD Detective Christopher Scarry was present along with two assistant district attorneys for the video interview.
“He (Felix) was quiet, lazy, laid back, a follower, definitely not the mastermind of this,” Scarry said.
He said Felix, 28, was fed, allowed to go the bathroom, never threatened or made promises to, and read his Miranda warnings before giving statements.
Felix allegedly said he was only the driver and because of a motorcycle accident years ago, his memory is fuzzy and he wasn’t able to drag Stark into the van or lift his lifeless body into a trash bin in Great Neck, L.I.
The body was partially burned when it was found.
“I was scared s—less. This was not my thing,” Felix told investigators. Felix said he’d worked carpentry in one of Stark’s properties, but didn’t know him.
Felix admitted to paying cash for the gasoline, but said he didn’t pour it or light Stark on fire.
The three alleged co-defendants have not been charged.
If convicted, Felix faces 50 years to life in prison.
