By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A man arrested for gunning down another man in a Chelsea diner had "no choice" but to kill in self-defense, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Earle Barranco was arraigned on charges he murdered Corey Scott in the Good Stuff Diner on West 14th Street last month. He was caught after being seen on the JumboTron at a Charlotte Bobcats game in North Carolina.
"Simply put — Corey Scott got what he deserved," said Howard Greenberg, Barranco's attorney.
Scott was a dangerous gang member with a murder conviction, Greenberg said, who pulled a gun and fired at Barranco in the diner on Oct. 23. Barranco had no choice but to fire back, the attorney said.
"If [Barranco] didn't do what he did, he'd be dead," he added.
"You would have done the same thing," Greenberg told the arraignment judge who ordered Barranco held without bail.
He painted Barranco as "a cripple who could not run" — due to a botched hip surgery — and would have had no way of defending himself against Scott, 28, who was reportedly armed with a 9mm pistol.
Prosecutors didn't say whether there was gunfight between Scott and Barranco in the Good Stuff Diner.
Barracno, 24, was at a Bobcats game last week when a tipster spotted him on the JumboTron screen and reported him to police. The New Jersey resident was arrested Saturday and extradited to New York to face second degree murder and weapon possession charges.
Prosecutors said Barranco shot Scott "several times in the head," and was caught on surveillance fleeing the scene.
Prior to that night, Barranco and Scott were friends but their relationship turned sour over money, prosecutors said.
"Ultimately their friendship degenerated" and they fought over cash the night Scott was killed, Assistant District Attorney Antoinette Carter said.
Barranco will testify at a grand jury proceeding before Dec. 3.
