Manhattan man, 18, arrested for February Harlem smoke shop killing

Detectives have arrested an 18-year-old they say played a role in the murder of a man fatally shot in the neck at a Harlem smoke shop in February, police said Saturday.

Christian Marte was busted Thursday after a four-month investigation, said police. Manhattan prosecutors charged him with gun and drug possession, but dropped a murder charge initially lodged by police. The investigation is continuing, said cops.

Marte is believed to have taken part in the murder of Alfred Johnson, 42, who was shot in the neck and torso during a spat inside Level Up Exotics, a smoke shop with a “Super Mario Bros.”-themed awning on W. 125th St. near Fifth Ave. about 10:05 p.m. on Feb. 11, cops said.

According to a criminal complaint, Marte admitted the shooting, claiming he acted in self defense when Johnson walked into the store and aimed a gun at him and a friend.

“It should never have happened,” Marte told an investigator, according to the complaint.

Members of the NYPD Warrants Squad grabbed Marte in Harlem after he was identified as one of the men inside the smoke shop at the time of the killing.

Marte, of Washington Heights, was arraigned Friday and ordered held on $100,000 bail, according to court documents.

At least one other suspect was still sought in the killing on Saturday, police said.

Johnson also lived in Washington Heights. Police have not disclosed a motive for the killing.

The smoke shop bloodshed came on the heels of a rash of shootings citywide during a frightening 15-hour span that saw 14 people wounded — three fatally. Five people were blasted in the Bronx, five in Brooklyn, and four in Queens in eight separate incidents between 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 and 5 a.m. on Feb. 11.