Two face murder charges in deadly Copiague shooting

Suffolk homicide detectives believe the Centereach man killed on a Copiague street early Monday was shot dead as he tried to sell marijuana to two Bloods gang members, a transaction that went awry when the three men got into a dispute.

Bernard Henderson, 31, of Piedmont Court in Centereach was shot once during the 2 a.m. altercation on William Street. He was pronounced dead at 10:45 a.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, police said.

His relatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Police have arrested two men they say are gang members. Gerard Ramdas, 19, of 2 Copiague Place in Copiague and Tymell McFarland, 19, of 3 Ozone Place in Massapequa are charged with second-degree murder.

"This was a disagreement during an apparent drug transaction," said Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky, commander of the Homicide Squad.

Police arrested Ramdas on Tuesday. Court records show he has pending marijuana possession charges and vehicle and traffic law violations.

McFarland was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi when the Scott County Sheriff's Office Interdiction Unit pulled him over for speeding and checked the license plate on the 1992 BMW he was driving, a car Pelkofsky said belongs to McFarland's grandmother.

Officers in Mississippi realized the car was linked to the shooting and held McFarland for Suffolk homicide detectives.

Pelkofsky said the shooting occurred after Henderson met with the two men for a drug transaction involving a "substantial" amount of marijuana.

After 15 minutes, they argued, he said. No gun or drugs were recovered, Pelkofsky said, and the reason for the dispute is unclear. "It wasn't a chance meeting," he said. "The incident took time to develop."

Eric Naiburg of Central Islip, Ramdas' attorney, said the incident was not a murder, but an accidental shooting.

"I do not from my heart believe that this is a murder," he said, adding police believe his client fired the shot. "Somebody died from a gun but it's certainly not murder."

Neither McFarland's attorney nor relatives could be reached for comment. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.