Convict who was about to be released from prison now charged with killing beloved chef in 2018 Brooklyn drive-by

A convict who was about to be released from prison on a weapons rap has now been charged with killing a beloved chef in a 2018 Brooklyn drive-by, police said Tuesday.

Marc Jean, 35, was charged with murder Tuesday in the death of Argenis Cabrera in a drive-by shooting in Crown Heights on July 3, 2018.

Cabrera, 33, was just steps from his home on Union St. near Troy Ave. when his killer opened fire from a passing minivan about 2:45 a.m., cops said.

Jean was convicted on Dec. 28, 2021, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon for an unrelated crime and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was due to be released from prison this month in that case.

It was not immediately clear how cops finally linked Jean to the killing. He lives in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, according to cops.

In addition to murder, he is charged with attempted murder, weapon possession and reckless endangerment. A second person was nearly struck by the spray of bullets.

Cabrera collapsed to the sidewalk while the shooter and another man drove off east in the white Honda Odyssey.

After crashing the minivan about half a block away near Schenectady Ave., the two men bailed out and ran three blocks into a subway station at Eastern Parkway.

Cabrera was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he died.

Back in 2018, heartbroken family members described Cabrera as a lovable “clown” — but had no idea how he ended up targeted by a killer.

“We used to call him a payaso [clown in Spanish] ’cause he made people laugh left and right,” the victim’s brother Johnathan Cabrera, 29, said. “It was just what he did — his mannerisms, his dance moves. He was a goofy guy.”

Cabrera got into cooking at an early age — and his family relished every moment he was in the kitchen.

“Whenever he cooked, we ate everything,” Cabrera said. “He loved making soul food, mac and cheese, buffalo wings, anything we could eat while we hung out.”

The slain man’s mother, Maria Cabrera spoke to The News over the phone from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican, and welcomed the news.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for this news,” the mom said, breaking down in tears on hearing for the first time that her son’s accused killer had been caught.

“What can I say? Justice has been done,” she added.

“I believe in God. God has finally given us justice,” said Maria Cabrera, 61. “I am not judging anyone, but God has finally given us notice. If you do something bad, you will eventually pay.”

She said that detectives told her that it was a case of mistaken identity.

“He was walking with a couple of people in front of our house and they started shooting,” she said.

The emotionally distraught mother said that her son was not the kind to seek out trouble.

“He was the best of men, and I am not saying that because he is my son,” she said.

She recalled that it was nearly Independence Day when the murder happened.

“They didn’t kill a dog,” Cabrera said tearfully. “They killed my son.”