NYC double murder suspect Jesus Acosta says "God is good" after NYPD arrest

Jesus Acosta, 31, was arrested in a Bronx park after fatally shooting two men in separate robberies days apart. He faces life without parole.

"God is good": Bronx double-murder suspect's first words after FBI manhunt ends in park arrest

Jesus Acosta, a 31-year-old parolee with a prior subway shooting conviction, was taken into custody at a Bronx park on Saturday following an FBI and NYPD manhunt for two fatal robberies committed within 48 hours of each other, NY Post Metro reports. As officers led him away in handcuffs to Bronx Criminal Court, Acosta offered a brief, unsolicited statement: "God is good, God is great."

Acosta had been released from state prison on April 23 after serving ten years on assault and felony gun possession charges stemming from a 2015 subway shooting, according to online records. He was still on parole at the time of the killings.

First shooting: Brooklyn wings restaurant

His alleged killing spree began on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 23, when Acosta entered America's Best Wings and Pizza on Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and opened fire during an armed robbery, police said. MD Yousuf, 44, a married father of two who worked at the restaurant, was struck in the head. He was transported to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where he later died. A second man shot in the leg during the same incident was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Second shooting: Bronx bodega, 48 hours later

Less than two days later, around 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Acosta allegedly carried out another armed robbery at a bodega on 149th Street in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx. There, he shot 33-year-old Tayvon Shuler in the chest. Surveillance footage obtained by WABC News showed the hooded gunman firing from the counter. According to his criminal complaint, Acosta then took cash from the register and stole a personal item belonging to Shuler while the victim was still alive. Shuler was pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital.

Police said there is no indication that either killing was motivated by anything other than robbery.

Manhunt, reward, and arrest

The FBI posted a $25,000 reward for information leading to Acosta's capture. United Bodegas of America, a New York-based advocacy group for small food retailers, added another $10,000. Acosta was apprehended at a Bronx park on Saturday. Hours later, he was walked out of the 43rd Precinct in handcuffs, ignoring reporters' questions before making his brief public remarks.

At his arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court late Sunday, Acosta appeared wide-eyed and grinning, at one point making a kissy face toward a camera. Judge Lavienska Polanco granted the prosecution's request to hold him without bail on charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and robbery.

"He shot at two workers in the same store, removed money from the register and a package. At the time of the arrest, the defendant attempted to run from police and was carrying a loaded pistol, the same one used in the shootings. The defendant faces life with no possibility of parole," Assistant District Attorney Fischer told the courtroom.

Acosta is due back in court on Thursday.

Prior record

According to law-enforcement sources, Acosta's decade-long prison sentence followed a conviction for shooting a 20-year-old man in the left arm on a No. 2 subway train on May 5, 2015. The attack occurred on a crowded platform after an argument broke out between the two men.

Victims' families

Yousuf's family has raised more than $42,000 on GoFundMe to cover the cost of sending his body back to Bangladesh, where he was born. Shuler's older sister, Tanasha Neal, launched a separate fundraiser for funeral expenses. Neal, who said her brother was known as "Plucky," described the loss in a post on the fundraising page.

"Everyone who knew him is currently experiencing an unimaginable loss after the sudden and tragic passing of Plucky," Neal wrote. "He was deeply loved by the people around him and losing him so unexpectedly has left everyone heartbroken and trying to process something we never imagined we would have to face."

The page had raised $2,700 by Sunday evening.

Additional reporting by Zoe Hussain.

Source: NY Post Metro