New Rochelle detectives arrest suspect in killing of local cab driver following gunfight at Brooklyn housing complex

Percell Lamont Ross was arrested by New Rochelle police in Brooklyn. (Provided by the New Rochelle PD)

New Rochelle police arrested a suspect Sunday in the murder of a local cab driver, but only after exchanging gunfire with the man at a public housing complex in Brooklyn.

At about 10:30 a.m., New Rochelle detectives working with the FBI located suspect Percell Lamont Ross in the courtyard of the housing complex and attempted to arrest him. Ross shot at the officers and fled on foot after the police identified themselves and ordered him to stop, according to a New Rochelle Police Department press release issued Monday.

“The suspect continued to shoot at police in various directions as they converged on him,” police said. “Several officers returned fire. The suspect ultimately surrendered when he ran out of ammunition. No one was injured in the gunfire.”

.22 caliber revolver suspect allegedly used to shoot at police. (Provided by New Rochelle PD)

Early Thursday morning, New Rochelle officers found the murder victim Andres Valenzuela on the ground with two gunshot wounds in the parking lot of Juliano’s Caterers at 700 Main St. Valenzuela, a 62-year-old resident of New Rochelle, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Valenzuela had finished his shift as a taxi driver and was parking his cab when the shooting occurred.

Ross was taken into custody by New Rochelle detectives and turned over to the FBI, the release said. He faces federal charges in addition to the murder charge for killing Valenzuela. The gun used Sunday to shoot at police was a .22 caliber revolver and is believed to be the same weapon used in the Valenzuela homicide, police said. A ballistics check is being done.

Ross, 52, of Covington, Virginia, will be be charged with homicide as well as multiple other charges stemming from Sunday’s shooting incident, the release said. Ross is a wanted fugitive in Connecticut for attempted murder and for sex trafficking in Virginia.

The New Rochelle department worked with the FBI SafeStreets Task Force and the Westchester County Police Real Time Crime Center on the case. FBI agents were on the scene in Brooklyn conducting surveillance on the housing complex with New Rochelle detectives.