In the early morning hours of a fall day in Binghamton, New York, a burst of violence outside a downtown establishment shattered the night and ended a life. Naheen Spencer, a 35-year-old male, was near Victoria's Café on Susquehanna Street when he was shot in the chest on October 8, 2016. First responders rushed to the scene at approximately 3:58 a.m. and found Spencer wounded.
He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries.
The atmosphere following the shooting grew tense, with an unruly crowd gathering in the area, prompting police to call for backup from other city officers and nearby agencies. In the immediate aftermath, authorities did not release details about a possible motive or whether they believed the shooter was known to Spencer. An investigation was launched by the Binghamton Police detective bureau, who appealed to the public for any information regarding the incident.
In the course of the investigation, authorities identified a suspect. Marcell Harris, who was 29 years old at the time, was subsequently arrested and faced a murder charge in connection with Naheen Spencer's death. However, the murder charge against Harris was later dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on that count.
While the murder charge was dismissed, the legal proceedings against Harris did not end there. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of felony criminal possession of a weapon. In February, he entered his guilty plea, admitting to possessing the gun that was linked to the fatal shooting. As a two-time violent felony offender, Marcell Harris was sentenced to ten years in prison in May of the following year.
