MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Jesse Parrilla: Ex-college hoopster shot and burned was collateral damage in Bronx gang war

Parrila and his friend were found by firefighters inside the burning wreck of his mother's Honda Accord at about 4:15 am on Monday, May 16

A former college basketball player was shot to death along with his girlfriend in the Bronx as collateral damage in a gang war that was sparked by a stolen purse, authorities have said.

22-year-old Jesse Parrilla died after he was kidnapped along with Nikki Huang, 23, whose friends in the 'Up the Hill' gang went after members of the rival 'Down the Hill' gang for mugging her and stealing her purse last Sunday, May 15. Parrila and Huang were found by firefighters inside the burning wreck of Parrilla's mother's Honda Accord at about 4:15 am on Monday, May 16, on Shore Road near the Pelham Split Rock Gold Course in Pelham Bay Park. Authorities believe the young couple was fatally shot before the car was torched.

RELATED ARTICLES

Amelia and Amanda Alves: Livestreamed video of twin sisters shot dead by drug gang goes viral

Man dies after he was shot multiple times outside Belfast school while he was waiting to pick up his son

Parrilla was apparently not a part of the beef between the rival crews and was only spending time with Huang. “Right now it looks like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” one Manhattan cop told the New York Post. “He has no criminal record. It looks like he was just hanging out with Nikki.”

Michelle Morales, Parrilla's mother, said her son knew Huang from middle school. “He was a good-hearted person just helping a friend out with a ride,” she told the newspaper. “I don’t think he was aware of anything. He had no idea what was going on because he would never put himself in a situation like that. I’m so angry and devastated and hurt that my son was taken away from me just like that. The last words he said to me when I was finally able to talk to him was, ‘I love you.'”

Sources told the outlet that Huang, who owned a nail salon on Grand St in Chinatown, had some ties to street gangs and that her friends in the 'Up the Hill' gang found out about the Sunday mugging. While it's unclear if she sought street justice, her gangster friends went looking for payback and ended up killing 39-year-old Brandon Atkinson, who was shot in the head on Avenue D at E Third St at about 11:15 pm on Sunday. That said, it's unclear if Atkinson was behind Huang's mugging.

About an hour later, in what has been described as retaliation for Atkinson's death, a 22-year-old man was shot in the arm and a 19-year-old in both legs on Cherry St near Pike St across from a luxury hi-rise on the Lower East Side. Huang and Parilla were subsequently kidnapped and driven to a quiet area near the popular Bronx golf course, where they were shot gangland-style and Parrilla's mom's car was set on fire, sources told the New York Daily News.

Morales told the outlet on Wednesday, May 18, how her son played hoop for prep schools in New York City and attended Genesee Community College, where he played point guard for the school’s basketball team from 2018 to 2019. The grieving mother said Parrilla probably died as he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time after giving a ride to Huang. “She needed a ride and she called him, but I don’t know how they ended up in the Bronx,” Morales told the Daily News. “He was home all that day, and he was supposed to meet me. He didn’t show, and I called and called but he didn’t pick up...They shot him twice. They assassinated him.”

Speaking to the Post, Morales said her son aspired to be a business owner after his dreams of an NBA career seemed less likely. “I’m trying to hold on,” she said. “I got a call from the police regarding my car. He called and I confirmed the car. I said the driver is my son. I found out he had passed from the detective,” she continued. “I screamed. I want justice for my son. I want whoever did this to come forward," the devastated mother added.

A spokesman for Genesee Community College told the Post in an email on Thursday, May 19, that the school was “saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely passing of Jesse Parrilla, who played on the school basketball team for one year and continued to take online classes." The statement noted, “During his time on campus in 2018-2019, Jesse was an energetic and well-liked student who made his mark in many areas, including as a member of our men’s basketball team. Jesse continued his academic pursuits at GCC as an online student as recently as spring 2021," adding, “Jesse is dearly missed by the GCC community.”