{"id":2427479,"date":"2025-04-25T10:27:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/black-community-feels-pain-when-alleged-slasher-gets-low-bail-then-murders-beloved-neighbor-momma-zee-police\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T10:28:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:28:57","slug":"black-community-feels-pain-when-alleged-slasher-gets-low-bail-then-murders-beloved-neighbor-momma-zee-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/black-community-feels-pain-when-alleged-slasher-gets-low-bail-then-murders-beloved-neighbor-momma-zee-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Community Feels Pain When Alleged Slasher Gets Low Bail Then Murders Beloved Neighbor &#8216;Momma Zee&#8217;: Police"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblack-community-feels-pain-when-alleged-slasher-gets-low-bail-then-murders-beloved-neighbor-momma-zee-police%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2427479&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports on the tragic shooting death of Excenia Mette, known as &#8220;Momma Zee,&#8221; a beloved matriarch of her Harlem community and the owner of the first woman- and black-owned bodega in New York City. Mette was killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight outside her apartment building while she was checking on her grandson. One of the alleged shooters, Darious Smith, 23, was reportedly out on low bail for previous assault and robbery charges at the time of the incident.<\/p>\n<p>The article raises concerns about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-pardon-jon-woods-a-victim-of-process-crimes-like-michael-flynn\/\" title=\"President Trump, Please Pardon Jon Woods, a Victim of Process Crimes Like Michael Flynn\">criminal justice system<\/a> and the leniency of bail laws, questioning why Smith&#8217;s bail was set so low despite his violent history. Manhattan District Attorney alvin Bragg&#8217;s policies, along with the judge&#8217;s decisions, have come under scrutiny, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uaw-escalates-strike-as-progress-stalls-leadership-invites-biden-to-join-picket-lines\/\" title=\"UAW intensifies strike, urges Biden to join picket lines.\">reflecting broader issues<\/a> in New York&#8217;s approach to crime and public safety. Mayor Eric Adams emphasizes the need for all parts of the justice system to work effectively, implying that systemic failures contributed to mette&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p>Local residents express the need for better youth engagement to prevent violence, indicating a community&#8217;s desire for change. the piece critiques a system seen as flawed and advocates for reforms to prevent further tragedies like the loss of &#8220;Momma Zee.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>New York, it seems, will never learn. And if and when it does, it&rsquo;ll come too late for &ldquo;Momma Zee.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/04\/24\/us-news\/hooligan-whose-alleged-gunfight-led-to-death-of-harlem-community-pillar-momma-zee-was-out-on-bail-in-slashing-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>, Excenia Mette &mdash; the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/04\/23\/us-news\/innocent-nyc-woman-fatally-shot-in-the-head-after-she-stepped-out-of-apartment-building-into-crossfire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proprietor<\/a> of the first woman- and black-owned bodega in Gotham, who was known as &ldquo;Zeenie&rdquo; and &ldquo;Momma Zee&rdquo; to the Harlem community that loved her &mdash; was killed in the crossfire of a gunfight outside her apartment building on Lenox Avenue on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>One of the alleged perps in the death of the 61-year-old neighborhood matriarch? Darious Smith, 23, who was out on low bail pending an assault and robbery charge that was due to go to trial in May.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sources said Smith is believed to have exchanged shots with the still-at-large gunman whose stray bullet hit Mette in the head as she selflessly rushed outside to check on her grandson Tuesday night,&rdquo; the Post reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Smith was shot in the foot during the scuffle.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Smith is now behind bars without bail thanks to Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Kacie Lally &mdash; although that was hardly the case the last time he was in court, which may have been the problem.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2024, Smith was arrested after he allegedly attacked and slashed two victims with a box cutter while he attempted to steal batteries from e-bikes.<\/p>\n<p>He faced robbery and assault charges from that incident, and the office of Manhattan District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/alvin-bragg-responds-daniel-penny-acquittal-trying-play-victim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alvin Bragg<\/a> requested cash bail of $50,000 or a $150,000 bond. However, Judge Michael Ryan set his bail at $10,000, which Smith posted.<\/p>\n<p>Now, this raises a great number of questions about&nbsp;<em>why<\/em> his bail was set so low, none of which the Post&rsquo;s report answered.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg, for those of you who have been keeping up with his exploits that don&rsquo;t involve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/shocker-even-andrew-cuomo-blasting-braggs-anti-trump-witch-hunt-talk-threat-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prosecuting former presidents for incorrectly itemizing<\/a> NDAs they signed with garrulous porn stars the better part of a decade ago, is not known as a hard-on-crime, lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key type. In fact, he&rsquo;s more of a give-them-the-key-and-throw-away-the-lockup type, particularly when it comes to bail.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ryan was reappointed to the bench by Mayor Eric Adams, a former cop who was elected because he was about as much of a law-and-order candidate as you&rsquo;ll get in deep-blue New York City. Adams&rsquo; electoral problems stem not from the fact that he hasn&rsquo;t tried to curb crime, but that he has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/jim-gaffigan-humiliates-kamala-democratic-colleagues-reminds-harris-really-became-nominee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sideline as a Turkish Airlines frequent (free) flyer<\/a> and Istanbul influencer, allegedly &mdash; things that, while they don&rsquo;t pose the immediate danger to residents that slashing people with box-cutters while stealing e-bike batteries do, are still very illegal.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan, meanwhile, also doesn&rsquo;t have a background that suggests he&rsquo;s soft on crime; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/office-of-the-mayor\/news\/848-22\/mayor-adams-10-judicial-appointments-reappointments-criminal-family-courts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bio blurb<\/a> noted that he &ldquo;has served with the Kings County District Attorney&rsquo;s Office since the start of his legal career, up until his appointment to the bench. During his tenure, he was assigned to various bureaus and has held several titles, including but not limited to serving as a deputy bureau chief of the Early Case Assessment, Rackets, and Criminal Court Bureaus; and as bureau chief of the Human Trafficking Bureau and Investigations Division. For the last eight years, he was chief of the Criminal Courts Unit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s a rare and strange occurrence, then, when Bragg&rsquo;s people want to throw the book at a perp and are stopped by a former DA appointed by Eric Adams. The Post shed little light on why this was, which leads one to believe the culprit may, in fact, be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nyc-thief-thanks-dems-bail-reform-release-139th-arrest-cant-stopped\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arcane and lenient bail laws<\/a> of both New York City and state.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the case, a dangerous man was out on low bail, allegedly got into a gunfight, and killed a beloved Harlem neighborhood fixture.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Blame NY&rsquo;s thug-loving progs for the death of innocent bystanders like &lsquo;Momma Zee&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GPmIFR7yHp\">https:\/\/t.co\/GPmIFR7yHp<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YrEIbiOqgB\">pic.twitter.com\/YrEIbiOqgB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NY Post Opinion (@NYPostOpinion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYPostOpinion\/status\/1915549517207818366?\">April 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They need to do something for the youth, to keep them occupied, give them something to do, something to look forward to,&rdquo; said Barbara Johnson, a neighbor of &ldquo;Momma Zee.&rdquo; &ldquo;Idle hands is the Devil&rsquo;s workshop.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Adams, meanwhile, blamed the system: &ldquo;Public safety is a criminal justice apparatus that includes police, that includes judges, that includes lawmakers. The police are doing their job,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When you have a person with repeated violence, just last year, he was arrested for robbery, stabbing two people.&nbsp;Now he&rsquo;s back on&nbsp;the&nbsp;street, involved in a shooting that took&nbsp;the&nbsp;life of an innocent woman. We have to have&nbsp;the&nbsp;other parts of&nbsp;the&nbsp;criminal justice system do&nbsp;their&nbsp;job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Except &hellip; the judge in the case was re-appointed by Adams and doesn&rsquo;t have a background that indicates a bleeding heart, so there goes that theory &mdash; unless, of course, he wants to put forth the notion that the man who&nbsp;<em>really<\/em> could have stood in the way of this happening was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/alvin-bragg-ripped-apart-mom-murder-victim-room-erupts-applause-finishes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alvin Bragg<\/a>. Not only would that be politically disadvantageous for him, it&rsquo;d also be almost certainly untrue.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, the problem is the rotten system New York has assembled for itself. Elect all the Eric Adamses you want. Make sure they don&rsquo;t have comped first-class tickets on red-eye from JFK to Istanbul, while you&rsquo;re at it.<\/p>\n<p>Or elect Andrew Cuomo &mdash; the leading Democratic candidate for New York City&rsquo;s November mayoral race because, even though he killed a few thousand seniors with his COVID policies and sexually harassed numerous staffers, he&rsquo;s not an insane lefty on crime like socialist state Assemblymember <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/grocer-offers-nyc-one-locations-test-government-run-store-plan-city-must-agree-one-demand-first\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a> or progressive New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who promise a return to De Blasio-style governance and have the poll numbers to show for it.<\/p>\n<p>This tragedy was set into motion long before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/flashback-time-judge-judy-crushed-alvin-bragg-cnn-whole-world-see\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alvin Bragg<\/a> or the Summer of Floyd. Rather, New York has made its progressive bed and is now lying in it, quite painfully. What&rsquo;s sad is that the murder of &ldquo;Momma Zee&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t the most hideous crime in NYC this month. That has to go to the man whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/wife-man-robbed-sexually-violated-215100447.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">corpse<\/a> was robbed twice and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">sexually assaulted aboard<\/a> a New York subway train.<\/p>\n<p>And let&rsquo;s put the blame where the blame lies: This system and the politicians who created it were put into place by white laptop liberals because it made them feel enlightened. That&rsquo;s true everywhere these failed policies are tried across this fruited plain, not just New York City. And now, the Democratic Party wonders aloud why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/donald-trump-black-voters-gains-results-1982939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">black<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trumps-return-power-fueled-by-hispanic-working-class-voter-support-2024-11-06\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Latino<\/a> voters defected to Donald Trump in 2024 &mdash; with some estimating 25 percent of the black male vote going Republican. Look at these headlines, and you&rsquo;re surprised it wasn&rsquo;t <em>more<\/em>, especially when you look at who low or no bail really hurts.<\/p>\n<p>I have no illusions that the political, legal, or social morass New York City and state have voted themselves into can be undone in an election, or even a decade. But we have to start somewhere. Start with &ldquo;Momma Zee&rdquo; and every Democrat who failed her.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York appears to be stuck in its ways, and by the time it learns from its mistakes, it may be too late for &#8220;Momma Zee.&#8221; As reported by the New York Post, Excenia Mette\u2014who owned the first woman- and black-owned bodega in the city and was affectionately called \u201cZeenie\u201d or \u201cMomma Zee\u201d by her Harlem neighbors\u2014was tragically killed during a gunfight outside her apartment on Lenox Avenue. One of the suspects linked to her death is 23-year-old Darious Smith, who was out on low bail while awaiting trial for an assault and robbery charge. Sources indicate that Smith exchanged gunfire with another shooter when a stray bullet struck Mette in the head as she rushed outside to check on her grandson. Smith himself was injured in the foot during this incident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2427480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Momma-Zee.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[54077,34390,54078,54076,54079],"class_list":["post-2427479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alleged-slasher","tag-black-community","tag-community-violence","tag-low-bail","tag-momma-zee"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Momma-Zee.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2427479"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2427483,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427479\/revisions\/2427483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2427480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2427479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2427479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2427479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}