On the evening of November 7, 2023, a dispute between two longtime friends on the Poospatuck Reservation in Mastic, New York, ended in a fatal shooting. The victim was identified as Umar Elquhir, a 45-year-old male from North Bellport. The incident began with a physical altercation between Elquhir and his friend, James Brown. Following the fight, Elquhir left the scene, only to return approximately two hours later, parking his car outside Brown's residence.
What happened next was
captured by a surveillance camera from a nearby smoke shop. The footage showed James Brown exiting his home and walking toward Elquhir's vehicle. Brown was heard repeatedly yelling, 'You wanna die?' before he fired about nine shots into the car where Elquhir was seated in the driver's seat. Struck by multiple bullets, Elquhir managed to open his car door and collapsed to the ground. Emergency services were called, and he was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, where he was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Suffolk County Police investigated the homicide, and their efforts led to the arrest of James Brown, then 43, on November 20, 2023. Brown was subsequently indicted on charges including second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. During the trial, Brown's defense argued that he acted in self-defense, believing that Elquhir, who had been acquitted of a separate murder charge earlier that year, had returned to his home to kill him. However, prosecutors established that Elquhir was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
In May 2025, a jury convicted James Brown, who had a prior felony conviction for assault, of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. The following month, he was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life in prison for the murder of his longtime friend.
