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Police Identify Suspect in 14th St. Shootout and Chain Snatching, NYPD Says

By Danielle Tcholakian | July 28, 2014 10:29am | Updated on July 28, 2014 11:37am
 Police said David Jones (inset) shot a 23-year-old man at the Good Stuff Diner in Chelsea on July 1.
Police said David Jones (inset) shot a 23-year-old man at the Good Stuff Diner in Chelsea on July 1.
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DNAinfo/NYPD

CHELSEA — Police have identified the man suspected of ripping a $50,000 diamond-studded chain from a customer's neck in Good Stuff Diner, which sparked a wild shootout across 14th Street earlier this month.

The victim was sitting in the 109 W. 14th St. diner with a group of people about 5 a.m. July 1 when another group walked in, including David Jones, 31, of St. Albans, police said.

Jones went into the bathroom and emerged with a gun, then grabbed the gold-and-diamond chain from the 23-year-old victim's neck, police said.

The two groups began arguing, and as the dispute spilled outside of the Chelsea diner, the groups exchanged gunfire across 14th Street, police said.

Police said a 23-year-old was shot in the torso in the fight, but it was not the same person whose necklace was stolen.

The man who owned the chain told police it was worth $50,000. Police said he's a member of the Bloods gang and has prior arrests for assault and grand larceny. He and a woman were taken to the 13th Precinct for questioning after the incident, while others fled the scene in a white BMW and a white Mercedes, police said.

Jones also has prior arrests, including for robbery and assault, police said. He is on probation until 2017 stemming from an arrest in Connecticut, police said.

Good Stuff Diner was the scene of a fatal shooting in 2010. The suspect in that shooting was caught after he was spotted on a Jumbotron at a basketball game in North Carolina.

The NYPD's Crime Stoppers program is offering $2,000 to anyone who assists in Jones' arrest and indictment, police said. Tips can be anonymously called in at 1-800-577-8477.