How do you know he aint do nothing?
Neighbors shaken by shooting at Staten Island home of rapper's associate
Neighbors living in a townhouse community in Stapleton were still shaken this evening over a bullet and firebomb attack early Tuesday morning on the home of an associate of rap superstar 50 Cent.
The evidence was stark: Bulletholes in one neighbor's windows and doors and a black streak several feet long where a small fire burned after a Molotov cocktail missed its original mark.
The barrage of about a dozen gunshots around 4:45 a.m. was apparently meant for Barja Walter, 32, of 35 Tappen Ct. Bullets struck Walter's townhouse, along with some neighbors' homes, but a gasoline-filled bottle aimed at his bulletproof Chevy SUV failed to hit its target.
Walter, his girlfriend and three children were home at the time of the incident but were unharmed.
However, their neighbors were still jittery this evening.
"We heard gunshots and I woke up," said a 50-year-old woman who lives next door and asked not to be identified. "It was loud and I thought my house was on fire."
She and her husband, Robert, 51, who would give his first name only, pointed out two bulletholes in the window of their daughter's upstairs bedroom, two more in their aluminum siding and one in their front screen door.
The frazzled couple added that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Walter's bulletproof SUV, but missed, instead striking their 2007 Honda Accord, then bouncing off Walter's garbage can before hitting the ground, where it broke and burst into flames.
"It woke me up at 3 a.m. and there was a big fire next to my car," said neighbor Erwin Menbreno, 31.
Neighbors said the incident was the second involving Walter that had affected other residents.
In the first incident over Easter of last year, another car and his front screen door to his house were damaged, Robert said.
Many neighbors said they lived in the quiet community for decades without problems.
"We've never had anything happen like this," said one resident. "This is one of the nicest, quietest communities to raise kids."
Several neighbors seemed aware of Walter's celebrity status. One neighbor noted her children had seen Tony Yayo visit the house, "But we are not impressed by that."
Some neighbors said Walter had moved or was in the process of moving and expressed relief at that news.
However, police said Walter lives at the residence part of the time.
Walter told cops he put out the fire with a garden hose and claimed he didn't know why anyone would want to harm him.
One neighbor doesn't buy it.
"They were very serious this time. The last time they were playing with him. This time it was about taking his life."
Walter, who also goes by the name Jahlill Bethel, served a three-month stint in prison in 2004 on a felony weapons charge, public records show.
In 2006 he was questioned in the fatal shooting of rapper Busta Rhymes' bodyguard, but was not considered a suspect. A phone call to Walter's lawyer was not returned.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.