The accused killer of beloved Harlem fixture “Momma Zee” only fired his gun because his rival came at him like “Yosemite Sam,’’ the suspect’s lawyer claimed in court Monday.
Ricky Shelby, 24, appeared before a Manhattan judge as a murder indictment against him was unsealed alleging he fired the fatal shot at innocent grandma Excenia Mette, 61, during an April gunfight.
Mette, a bodega owner and kindly neighborhood caretaker known as “Momma Zee,’’ took a bullet to the head when she stepped outside her apartment building to check on her grandson after she heard shots, authorities said.
“Your Honor, this incident does not begin on 113th Street,’’ Shelby’s lawyer, Alberto Ebanks, told the judge, referring to where the shooting occurred April 22.
“It begins on 125th Street, where the other individual that was apprehended, this individual threatens my client and follows him,” Ebanks said of Shelby’s alleged rival, Darious Smith.
“And then what does [Smith] do? He comes in like Yosemite Sam, he actually says, ‘Yo, what’s up,’ and fires,” the lawyer said.
Ebanks tried arguing that Shelby — who allegedly fled the scene and quickly changed his clothes to apparently escape capture after the fatal shooting — should be released from jail while awaiting trial.
The lawyer noted that six days after the shooting, Shelby surrendered to the NYPD.
“Your Honor, in my 32-year career, no one has ever hired a lawyer, surrendered to the police and then run for the border for, like, to get a taco,’’ the lawyer said.
But the judge sided with prosecutors and ordered Shelby, who pleaded not guilty at the hearing, to continue to be held without bail.
Shelby’s family was in court, as were relatives of Mette. All declined comment to The Post.
The suspect is due back in court Aug. 20.
Smith, who was out on bail in a slashing case when the senseless shooting unfolded, is charged with attempted murder.
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