On the last night of 2019, just hours before the new year, a 27-year-old man named Richard Hall was fatally shot inside the New Ebony Hotel in Harlem, New York. A male, he was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Saint Luke's hospital. The incident occurred around 11 p.m. at the hotel located on West 112th Street.
The New York Police Department swiftly launched an investigation, releasing surveillance footage of a man seen leaving
the hotel shortly after the shooting. This man was identified as Clifton Thomas, a 27-year-old resident of East Harlem. Despite the circulation of his image, Thomas managed to evade capture for a significant period.
After the shooting, Thomas fled to Maine, where he was later incarcerated for assaulting his girlfriend. It wasn't until October 2022, nearly three years after Richard Hall's death, that Clifton Thomas was arrested. Following the completion of his sentence in Maine, he was extradited to New York City to face charges for the murder.
Thomas, who had a prior conviction for attempted assault in 2011 for which he had served six years in prison, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with Hall's death. Upon his arraignment, he was ordered held without bail.
