2nd arrest in slaying of aspiring Mariners Harbor rapper

View full sizeFamily photoDidier Jean was gunned down last week.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police have arrested a second man in connection with a fatal early-morning shooting in Port Richmond earlier this month, accusing him of providing the gun that fired the deadly bullet.

David Peart, 20, of Lockman Avenue in Mariners Harbor, was arrested yesterday in connection with the May 3 slaying of Didier Jean, 26, outside 60 Harrison Ave.

Authorities say Peart accompanied the alleged shooter, Ricardo (Paco) Mendez, 18, to the slaying, and provided Mendez with the .45 caliber handgun that he used to kill Jean.

Mendez, also of Lockman Avenue and a reputed member of the Crips street gang, was arrested over the weekend and charged with murder. He told detectives that Jean had “disrespected” him in a prior argument, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

Mendez knew to look for Jean on Harrison Avenue near Port Richmond Avenue, and shot Jean as he sat in his car, hitting him in the eye, the source said.

Peart will be charged with second-degree murder, second-degree criminal facilitation and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, said Peter N. Spencer, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. He has not yet been arraigned in Stapleton Criminal Court.

Jean’s slaying took place on a two-block stretch that has seen five additional killings since 2003, including, most recently, the Dec. 28 fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man who police believe was accidentally shot by his childhood friend during a street fight.