‘It just happened’: Bronx man accused of killing roommate says he stabbed victim with gun when gun went off

Prosecutors said Friday that a Bronx man accused of killing his 62-year-old roommate in the back of the head during an argument in their basement apartment was hitting his former friend with a gun when the gun went off.

Angelo Miranda, 51, hid the gun that killed Juan Laura at his mother’s nearby home after the Tuesday night murder at 169th Street in Highbridge, he admitted under questioning.

He and Laura were embroiled in an ongoing argument when the shooting took place, Miranda told police. Laura had just celebrated a $300 lottery win at a nearby wine cellar before the fatal confrontation took place.

“I walked out of my room with a gun in my hand and my finger was on the trigger,” Miranda told police, according to court documents. “He started cussing and saying this damn damn thing and I had enough. I hit him twice on the left side of the head and it just happened.”

Juan Laura pictured in 2018.

In a panic, Miranda ran to her car, where she took a cartridge case from her pistol and slipped it into her pocket.

“She’s stuck,” he said of the bullet case that eventually linked him to the shooting. I put it in my pocket because I didn’t think.

He then drove two blocks to his mother’s house, hiding the gun in her closet.

“I put the magazine on the first shelf and the gun on the top shelf and then locked the closet,” he said. “I have another gun in my room. I have them for protection.

The police charged Miranda with murder, manslaughter and illegal possession of a weapon. A Bronx criminal judge ordered him to be held without bail after a brief trial on Friday.

Just hours before he was shot, Laura cashed in a $300 winning lottery ticket at a local bodega and celebrated the modest win, devastated friends told the Daily News.

“He was here and he was so happy,” said Johnny Rivera, 60, a bodega regular. He celebrated and bought a case of beer for everyone. Whatever you put on the counter, he paid.

After tossing ten dollar bills at her friends, Laura headed home and died soon after.

According to Rivera, Laura and Miranda “had a fight”.

“They were friends for a while,” Rivera said. “Never, not for a minute, did we think it would lead to this.”

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