Retired New York Police lieutenant Thomas Barnes took a break from his duties as a driver for hedge fund manager Philippe Laffont (pictured) last Friday, ……shooting and killing an armed robber in East Harlem, New York while gassing up his boss’ Mercedes SUV at the BP station at East 119th Street and First Avenue at around 11 a.m. Laffont was not in the vehicle at the time.
The suspect, Wyatt Rudolph, 23, and a second person, who was not apprehended, had just held up the Rx Center pharmacy, demanding cash and OxyContin pills, and was exchanging fire with three NYPD officers when Barnes gunned him down. As a former police officer, Barnes has a concealed carry permit for his handgun.
According to The New York Post, Rudolph was a known member of the Bloods street gang and went by the name “Booga.” He was a suspect in a shooting in Sandy Springs, Ga. last year, as well as a May 2010 shooting in New York. Police believe he may also have been involved in as many as four other robberies in the New York metro area.
According to reports, Barnes retired from the Brooklyn South gang division in 2005 after serving in the NYPD since 1984. His boss, Laffont, heads up the tech-focused hedge fund Coatue Management.
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