Christopher King charged with murder in shooting of Fla. man outside Queens nightclub, DA says

An Elmont man has been charged in the April shooting death of a Florida man outside a nightclub in Queens, prosecutors said Friday.

Christopher King, 31, was arraigned Friday on second-degree murder charges in the death of Jevaughn Jeminson, 23, of North Lauderdale, according to a news release from the Queens District Attorney's Office. King also was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and two counts of second-degree criminal possession. A conviction could mean 25 years to life in prison.

“More senseless gun violence, more tragedy, another young life cut short,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in the release. 

Around 1:56 a.m. on April 8, King and a male companion entered the Pure Lounge nightclub in St. Albans. His associate was not initially let into the club because security guards found a gun on him. He was later allowed to enter the club after leaving and being searched again, prosecutors said. 

Shortly after that, Jeminson left the club and walked to a nearby intersection, followed soon after by the two other men.

Video surveillance shows King pulling out a gun from his clothing. The second man briefly “exchanged words” with King, removed a gun from his sweatshirt and started shooting, prosecutors said. 

Jeminson dashed around the corner as the two men chased him and fired shots, prosecutors said. Jeminson, already shot several times, fell to the ground, prosecutors said. King’s companion stood over the victim, shooting several more times. He walked away before returning and again opening fire on Jeminson. 

Jeminson was taken to a hospital, where he died. He sustained several gunshot wounds, including four to the abdomen, two in the head, and one in the face.

After firing a combined 20 rounds, the pair ran away and fled in a sedan, which police later found in the garage at King's Hempstead address. King was arrested in Georgia on Aug. 16 and extradited to New York, the news release said. 

King's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon. The second man has not been apprehended, the district attorney's office said Friday.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.