A Bronx man has been charged in connection with the 2012 murder of Michael Perez. Audrey Strauss, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dermot Shea, NYPD commissioner, announced on Wednesday, May 5, that Shareef Landsmark, a/k/a “Reef, a/k/a “Wreef,” was charged with the murder, which took place in the Olinville section of the Bronx on September 17, 2012.

 

Landsmark was arrested on May 4 and was presented before U.S. Magistrate judge, Katharine H. Parker, the next day. The case is assigned to U.S. District judge, Lorna G. Schofield.

 

Referring to the case, Strauss said, as alleged in the indictment, almost nine years ago, Landsmark executed Perez on the streets of the Bronx. “Thanks to the perseverance of the NYPD, Landsmark now stands charged in federal court,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, Shea said the charges proved that the “best investigators in the world” will never cease to secure the justice that is owed to the victims and their families. “I would like to thank the NYPD detectives, our law enforcement partners, and the prosecutors of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their dedication to this investigation,” he said.

 

According to the charges, it is alleged that on September 17, 2012, Landsmark was hired by a co-conspirator to kill Perez in furtherance of a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Later that night, Landsmark shot and killed Perez, who was standing in the street near the intersection of East 213th Street and Willett Avenue in the Olinville section of The Bronx.

 

Landsmark, 35, from the Bronx, is charged with one count of murder through use of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison; one count of murder in connection with a drug trafficking crime, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

 

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress. They are provided for information purposes only as any sentencing will be determined by the judge.

 

Strauss praised the NYPD’s work on the investigation. She also thanked the special agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the case, which is being prosecuted by the Violent and Organized Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. attorneys, Alexandra Rothman and Adam Hobson, are in charge of the prosecution.

 

A person arrested and accused of a crime is innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.