[OldManMac]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/04/ny...yt&emc=rss

July 4, 2005
2 Are Charged With Murder in IPod Theft

By JENNIFER MEDINA and MATTHEW SWEENEY
Two Brooklyn teenagers were arrested early yesterday on charges that they robbed and killed a 15-year-old boy in the Farragut neighborhood when they stole his friend's iPod, the police said.

The victim, Christopher Rose, was walking with three other boys late Saturday afternoon when a large group of teenagers approached them and demanded that they turn over the iPod that one of the boys was carrying, according to the police and witnesses. When the boys refused, one of the suspects began hitting them, said Kenneth, 15, who was with Christopher at the time of the attack. Then someone stabbed Christopher twice in the chest.

Law enforcement officials have warned in recent months that iPods have prompted an increase in thefts on the subways, and that teenagers are particularly vulnerable targets of iPod thefts by other teenagers.

The police said yesterday that they had charged Darran Samuel, 16, and Daryl Stephen, 17, with murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with Christopher's death. Relatives of both boys, reached at their homes in Brooklyn, said the youths had no history of violence.

"Maybe they were the two who didn't run fast enough," said Daryl's aunt, who declined to give her name.

A man who described himself as an uncle of Darran's, but who also declined to give his name, described the youth as "weak and frail."

"There is no possible way he could have committed the crime of murder," he said, but added, "maybe in bad company and not good judgment."

Police officials said that they were still searching for other suspects, and that they had not yet recovered the iPod.

Christopher attended school in Bushkill, Pa., where his parents said they had sent him with the hope that he might be safer and receive a better education.

"We sent him out there to get away from this horrible life," Christopher's father, Errol Rose, said yesterday. "All these years - seven and a half years - I've been back and forth from Pennsylvania with this boy. He didn't last too long before they rubbed him out."

Christopher and his friends were on their way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch a bus back to Pennsylvania on Saturday when they were attacked. Usually, someone would drive him to the subway or take him to the bus terminal, Mr. Rose said. But since he and his wife were attending a wedding, Mr. Rose said he gave Christopher permission to head back on his own. It was one of the few times the Roses had allowed Christopher to walk around the neighborhood alone.

Just before Christopher left his family's home, his father called to give him clear instructions.

Mr. Rose said that Christopher and three friends - had planned to take the subway to the bus terminal, where they would catch a bus to Pennsylvania, arriving in time to watch a fireworks display. Traveling with Christopher were Kenneth and two brothers, Richard, 15, and Jonathan, 11, whose mother asked that their last name be withheld.

"Don't talk to strangers; if you need to talk to anybody, talk to someone in uniform," Mr. Rose recalled saying. He called Christopher back to emphasize his point. "Did you hear what I said?" he asked.

Christopher was stabbed to death just a few minutes later on 40th Street near Avenue D, a block and a half from his home.

Several teenagers approached Christopher and his three friends just after they began walking on Avenue D. Richard was showing Kenneth his iPod when one of the older boys approached them and demanded it, Kenneth said. Richard handed the iPod to Jonathan before turning back toward the Rose home. Several teenagers in another group, some riding bikes, began approaching them.

"There were like 15 or 20 of them, and there were more coming," Kenneth said yesterday. He spoke in front of the Rose family home with his back facing the news cameras, hiding his swollen and bruised right eye. "We were trying to get away."

Kenneth said that when he turned around to check on his friends, Christopher and Richard were fighting more than a dozen boys. The suspects then took the iPod, Kenneth's cellphone and Christopher's sneakers before running off.

At some point during the fight, Christopher was stabbed twice in the chest, and fell to the ground. "I can't think," Kenneth said. "Me and him were like brothers."

"I'm mad I can't do anything about it," he added.

The two were so close that their mothers were hesitant to separate them for the summer, so Kenneth, whose family lives in Pennsylvania, had planned to live with the Rose family in Brooklyn. The two were to help Christopher's mother at a social service agency for disabled children in East New York where she works, family members said.

Christopher had three older sisters. During the school year, he often returned to New York for weekends and holidays, his parents said. He spent a lot of time at the Brooklyn Tabernacle church, where he played basketball and participated in a youth group.

Family and friends poured into the Rose home yesterday, many coming from the church. They gathered inside the family's two-story home, some praying and some crying.

Many said Christopher was shy. A recent report card suggested that he speak up more in class.

"My husband was afraid the city was too rough for him," Sharon Rose, Christopher's mother, said. "Should I have stayed home yesterday? Should he have stayed down there for the summer? All kind of choices pop into your head."

[budster101]

Rule 8. Broken.

[AKcrab]

Originally Posted by budster101

Rule 8. Broken.

No rule #8 in the lounge.

A tragedy. Teenagers suck.

[The Godfather]

The PSPs will do the same in 2006.

[budster101]

I h8 the lounge.

[RGB]

I should consider myself lucky. The theft of my iPod was much cleaner - three guys just walked out of my apartment while everyone else was busy playing a huge game of flip cup, making a lot of noise, and not noticing the sudden lack of music until it was too late. Nothing was hurt except my wallet, and my faith in humanity.

[AKcrab]

Flip cup?

[RGB]

Originally Posted by AKcrab

Flip cup?

"To Play: Teams stand on opposite sides of the table, one person from each team directly opposite each other. Each person fills a cup halfway with beer. A neutral judge yells "go". The first player on each team chugs his beer as fast as possible. After finishing, the player sets his cup down on the edge of the table, with enough of the cup over the edge so that he can get a finger under it to flip it over. The cup must land standing before the next person on the team may begin chugging. The game is over when one team has chugged all their beers, and the last person has successfully flipped their cup."

We had an 18 or 20 person game going on my ping pong table. Made quite a lot of noise while cheering for eachother, getting into the action.

[Superchicken]

That's sick... who the heck would kill someone for a freaking iPod? I mean sure I like mine and crap... but... frick I say fry whatever idiot would do this sort of thing.

That said I've thought of what I'd do if someone tried to mug me for my iPod, fortunately I'd likely be bigger than em, and probably just beat the crap out of em

Still though... this is sick, violent people like this disgust me.

[storer]

Originally Posted by AKcrab

No rule #8 in the lounge.

Does he mean the 8th Commandment?

[Apple Pro Underwear]

in dangerous neighborhoods, they'll stab and beat each other for no valuables. They'll do it because you peeked at their girls asses or something equally dumb or gang related.

obviously, if u live in that area... focus on saving money to move out rather than buying mp3 players for your kids.

this gos on my common sense checklist of: don't bling if you stand a chance of getting jacked

[brapper]

Originally Posted by AKcrab

Flip cup?

wonderfully fun game.

[mitchell_pgh]

Killing for an iPod: Horrible
Flip Cup: Best Game EVER

[PacHead]

Somebody getting killed for an ipod is hardly surprising. Back in the day, people would get killed for their boomboxes, so it is only natural that somebody would die for their ipod. It is also extremely foolish to refuse to give an ipod to some thieves. Was it worth it ? Which ipod did the person decide to give their life for ? Was it the top model ipod photo or just a shuffle ? If somebody robs you, just give'em what they want, unless somebody values their ipod more than their life.



I also need to get rid of those white earphones, which just advertises to everybody (and to thugs) that you have an ipod.

Everybody in freakin' New York has those white earphones now, and I don't like wearing them, as I see these people as sheep. That's not "thinking different", that's doing the exact same thing that everybody else is doing. When something becomes too popular, it ceases to be cool. I sure hope that Apple will never ever surpass 10% of the computer market, for that would surely suck.

[tavilach]

Don't be stupid, people. The guy wasn't killed for an iPod. Members of a local gang wanted the iPod, and when Christopher didn't hand it over, they decided to teach him a thing or two.

Poor kid .

[Demonhood]

don't you guys remember the rash of people getting killed for their expensive shoes? (as immortalized by the wonderful documentary "The Last Action Hero")

all that has changed is the object of desire. people get killed for all sorts of stupid reasons. the lesson to be learned here is that teenagers are trouble and should be locked in the basement until they're 18. problem solved!

[Moderator]

finally....the ipod killer we've been waiting for.

Maybe he should have spent the money on a gun before an ipod.

[Hawkeye_a]

Just plain scary. The PC nerds and tutors here at uni keep pointing out such stories when they see my iPod as a reason why noone should buy iPods. Like there's ever been a single crime here in Oz thats directly linked to iPods.(A crime in my book would be selling computers with Windows or Linux on em)

Also..... i cant think of another product at least in my time that has generated such....lust(forl ack of a better word). Truely scary.

[Cadaver]

God forbid I get mugged for my iPod, but if I do (and I managed to keep from beating the sh*t out of the perp before he pulls the knife)... he can have the iPod. Better that than getting knifed.

That's why if you get mugged you either a) hand over the goods or b) strike immediately as hard as you can

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Also..... i cant think of another product at least in my time that has generated such....lust(forl ack of a better word). Truely scary.

Kids have been killing each other for shoes for decades.

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by Nick

That's why if you get mugged you either a) hand over the goods or b) strike immediately as hard as you can

5 years of martial arts training has taught me one very important lesson: Hit first, ask questions later.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Kids have been killing each other for shoes for decades.

really? women/girls n their shoes eh ?

[budster101]

40 years of staying alive has taught me, I run pretty good when I have to.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

really? women/girls n their shoes eh ?

uhh... no.

[Railroader]

I have a new ignore list participant!

[Cubeoid]

[storer]

Originally Posted by Moderator

finally....the ipod killer we've been waiting for.

My first thought too!

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Just plain scary. The PC nerds and tutors here at uni keep pointing out such stories when they see my iPod as a reason why noone should buy iPods. Like there's ever been a single crime here in Oz thats directly linked to iPods.(A crime in my book would be selling computers with Windows or Linux on em)

Also..... i cant think of another product at least in my time that has generated such....lust(forl ack of a better word). Truely scary.

Buy a pod and just buy another set of earphones, simple. Just dont show your original earphones.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Railroader

uhh... no.

Get a sence of humour....i highly recommend it....it's pretty fun, and keeps you from making unnecessary posts. everyone benefits

[glideslope]

The coverage this story has earned is simply amazing. Children and young adults are killed every day for thousands of different material possessions. They can live in an inner city, or in the burbs. The fact that it was an iPod has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than drawing attention to the plight of the inner city youth. Using iPod in the story grabs headlines. In my area a 2yr old was shot and killed while they slept. The "Hit" was drug related. The father was the target. The story was at the bottom of A1 for a day. A week later no memory of the event is in print.

I wonder if we would have a better memory if they had been listening to an iPod at the time of death?

We are witnessing the Fall of the Empire people.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Get a sence of humour....i highly recommend it....it's pretty fun, and keeps you from making unnecessary posts. everyone benefits

I don't joke about kids killing kids. That's just wrong.

[budster101]

It just shows you were they are emotionally. Nowhere is the word maybe?

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Railroader

I don't joke about kids killing kids. That's just wrong.

Yeah thats exactly what i was poking fun at.

[mitchell_pgh]

I wonder what makes people KILL for an iPod (AKA: a few hundred bucks).

I hope they enjoy their jail time.

[budster101]

They should put a giant poster of an iPod in their cell, with blood on it.


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[jasonsRX7]

Kanye West: "Everyone knows that the white man brought iPods to New York to keep the people down."

[budster101]

funny. Very funny.

[jcadam]

Rule of American Life #1: Always carry a gun.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by jcadam

Rule of American Life #1: Always carry a gun.

Uhh.. no. I've never owned a gun. Probably never will.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by jcadam

Rule of American Life #1: Always carry a gun.

, yeah if everyone carried a gun, everyone would feel and be safer. (sarcasm) lol

[jcadam]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

, yeah if everyone carried a gun, everyone would feel and be safer. (sarcasm) lol

But seriously, would you be less likely to mess with somebody if you knew they had a gun? Even if you have one too, gunfights ain't much fun.

[iREZ]

Originally Posted by Moderator

finally....the ipod killer we've been waiting for.

[jcadam]

oh, and another thought: How long before some public schools start banning the posession of iPods on school gorunds on the basis of "protecting our children from violence"? I remember a middle school I went to banned Chicago Bulls attire, when that particular type of clothing became associated with a certain gang.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by jcadam

But seriously, would you be less likely to mess with somebody if you knew they had a gun? Even if you have one too, gunfights ain't much fun.

Non-gun fights arent much fun either....at least the chances of homocide/murder are lower. I guess i would be less likely to mess with someone with a gun.....but i dont really want to mess with anyone, with or without a gun. im a peace lovin' hippie

[JoshuaZ]

Friends don't let friends own iPods.

This is why I have very bad friends.