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Bizarre Family Karma?

dufresne_2.jpgThe brother of the teenager who killed Lower East Side resident Nicole DuFresne in 2005 was killed as he attempted to rob a Staten Island resident on Jersey St., when his intended victim grabbed the pistol pointed at him and then shot Grant Fleming three times in the chest. Fleming was attempting a push-in robbery as the resident was entering his apartment. Grant Fleming's brother is Rudy Fleming, who responded to a robbery victim's inquiry of "You got what you wanted. What are you going to do now, shoot us?" by shooting Nicole Dufresne in the chest, killing her. Rudy Fleming is currently serving a life sentence for DuFresne's murder.

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Comments [rss]

  • Rfive

    Where are these comments going?

  • BIllD222

    Jersey street is THE WORST block on Staten Island to be on. It is straight up crack-head ghetto.

    It is the type of block you drive down at 2am on a Wed night and there are little kids running around the street, locals sitting on cars drinking 40s, etc.

    Do not ever go down this block if you happen onto SI.

  • JacqueMehoff

    yes, oh please.

    thankfully plumber's are still available.

  • WorksInDUMBO

    oh please--he's a CRIMINAL, and he's from a FAMILY OF CRIMINALS, one of whom infamously shot and killed an innocent person in a robbery. You'd have to be an idiot to ignore that connection.

  • JacqueMehoff

    then I'll write with a sparkle in my tush when

    eric clapton's son tried to fly.

    or, dare I say it, the one that started it all,

    the model who flew off her balcony just weeks ago.

    all legs akimbo.

  • JenChungsBaby

    Well, in this case it's the total effect of a family's actions coming back to haunt them. This bunch of losers let loose on society a small terror spree that has so far resulted in the father being killed, one brother being a convicted murderer and now another being killed while trying to commit a home invasion. And that's just the shit we know about. Chances are very good this clan did countless other crimes they were never busted for, unless you think this attempted home invasion was good ole' Grant Fleming's gangster initiation or something.

    And why shouldn't Gothamist write about it with a twinkle in its eye? Disregarding everything else about his family history and whatever, we should all be pleased that a thug like Grant got his due.

  • The Edge

    #44 - TL;DR

  • catiline

    WRT question about Pb. Lead is a main group element with a symbol Pb (Latin: plumbum). Lead has the atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal and is often used as ballistic projectiles in firarms. It's where the word Plumber (Pb) comes from...



  • Spear_Chucker

    RoDogg, STFU and go call Al Sharpton you whiny pussy bitch.

  • CR

    Dave - please change the title to "Piece-of-Shit from Totally Fucked-up Family Killed While Attempting to Initiate Extremely Violent Act".

  • RoDogg

    This is where Gothamist shows its ugly face. I wouldn't describe this story as "karma". That is no way to talk about a life that is taken regardless of it being black, white, a thug, a gangster, whoever. I agree with #24, it seems like Gothamist was typing this story with a smile on their face. Well, maybe they was because they are talking about the "karma" death of a black youth with no blacks on the Gothamist staff. So Dave Hogarty, you don't find it bizarre that when Nicole and her friends were being robbed by a gun holding youth that her statement "What are you going to do shot us?" was a bit bizarre. Yes, you want to bring up "shot us" to a guy holding a gun. I don't know what your intentions were in writing this story but you sound a little bit to happy to see a human life get taken regardless of what his brother did. Why did you even feel the need to let us know that he was the brother of the murderer of Nicole. How does this story even relate to the Nicole tragedy, it doesn't. So I guess it's "karma" that Nicole wasn't the only white female killed in NYC in 2005, where is that "karma" story. And sadly most of the remarks on this story are those of glee, satisfaction, and redemption ... it shouldn't be! There are many events in which black lives are taken everyday in tragic events but I notice many of those stories aren't even posted on this site. This is a bad taste story that should be deleted or the title alter. I don't know what type of site Jen Chung wants to run or the staff members she wants writing stories but a story like this should have never been posted as karma. "Bizarre Family Karma", so maybe you are saying that the whole family should be shot up one day since they are related to Rudy? So the whole family agreed with what Rudy Fleming did? Or maybe since Rudy was black all blacks should be shot? Oh wait, maybe all people named Rudy should be killed because they have the same name as the killer of Nicole, right? Wait, what about all people with their name starting with "R" be killed because it karma that Nicole killer name starts with "R". Rudy brother wasn't even with him that night when he decided to take Nicole life so why is it "karma" that his brother is killed. Why would you even want to relate being shot three times in the chest to karma. Dave, you are very insensitive!

    Also Dave, educate yourself before writing stories like this. Karma suppose to effect the PERSON WHO DID THE ACTION, Grant didn't kill Nicole but it seems to me that doesn't matter to you, you just wanted any ol' black to be shot and killed if they was related to Rudy. For you to put "Family Karma" in the story is a nasty intent, like you are saying that the whole family of Rudy Fleming should all have something bad happen to them one day. Rudy was an individual person who did a tragic thing but this is "family karma", Dave, you are a piece of shit! Never bring the whole family into an event like this. The the fuck is wrong with you.

    Karma: The total effect of a PERSON'S ACTIONS and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.

  • JenChungsBaby

    Study your elements people. Plumbum is the latin word for lead, which is where the symbol Pb comes from. See, I do remember one thing from my Brooklyn public school education.

    Rudy Fleming may have been messed up by his father's crack-related shooting death, IYRC, but he and his brother sure didn't learn anything from it. My dad did was an asshole growing up but I use that as a lesson on how to be different than him. It's hard to imagine that if my dad was killed like that I'd want to go out and do the same thing. Where's the mom in all this? DYRT?

  • WorksInDUMBO

    Here's another article about it (be sure and read the comments, they're hilarious): http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/cops_believe_staten_island_sho.html

    No one is quite sure who the intended victim was, and now they are afraid there's going to be retribution.

  • Fritzdecat

    Abortions..? No just get Rev Jackson to cut their nuts off.

  • periodictable

    True. A postnatal abortion would have done the trick.

    The point isn't so much poor little Fleming as it that he caused a shitload of damage that might have been prevented if he had a little more, um, supervision. Or not. Regardless, his family wasn't exactly qualified to deal with him. I doubt many faith-based groups could have dealt with him. That leaves, oh, various public social services and I'd call them "we" just to keep "us" on our toes.

  • Spear_Chucker

    Yes, WE should've post birth aborted the savage.

  • periodictable

    Whatever. It was clear that Rudy Fleming had serious problems well before he landed in jail. His family didn't give a shit. Someone needed to deal with the young man before he killed. I didn't say anything about releasing Fleming. He deserves what he got, life in jail.

  • dadoc

    Dear periodictable:

    WE let him down?

    WE (well maybe not you) paid to support this criminal family who did nothing in their lives other than hurt others. You wanna talk about WE? You wanna talk about help, get your butt to Rikers or Spofford & take the latest release into your home to help avoid "failing" these poor waifs.

    Iff'n you're just trolling I apoligize to the rest of the readers.

  • periodictable

    Actually, the Flemings are even more screwed and screwed up than just Grant and Rudy. IIRC, older brother Mickey Fleming is still doing time for assault and their father was killed, when Rudy was a pre-teen, in a crack-related robbery. Apparently, Rudy was pretty messed up by his father's death and didn't speak, like didn't speak at all, didn't look at any one, didn't eat, didn't interact, and just sat in a dark room all day. IIRC, he was almost institutionalized as a kid for his reaction to his father's death. Rudy was arrested at 16 for pulling a gun on, IIRC, a teacher. He got some help after he was arrested though clearly not enough.

    Don't get me wrong. I don't think Rudy Fleming should ever be let out of jail unsupervised. Period. He's clearly a threat to his fellow man. However, I think we--his schools, his teachers, his fellow man--let him and all of use down by not intervening much, much earlier. I'm sure it would have been expensive to intervene and I'm not sure it would have been successful but his actions have cost so much that it would have worth trying earlier on.

    The night Rudy Fleming killed Nicole DuFresne he was staying at his godfather's house. His godfather was a pretty regular guy trying to help, not a trained counselor or a parole officer or a security guard. He was no match for Rudy. And Rudy was only staying there because _no one_ in his family would take him after he got out of jail. He should have been placed in some form of highly supervised release or simply not let out of jail.

    Sad all around.

  • JacqueMehoff

    that's cuz you have drinkie crow in the brian.

    you should get on dillon's mailing list, hubba hubba.

    karma's only for the rich, poor don't have squat.

    here's karma, the son of superman and mrs. superman, susan st. james youngest, anderson cooper's brother.

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