Arthur L. Bell departed this life suddenly on June 25, 2010. Arthur was born in Schenectady, N.Y. on August 1, 1989. Arthur was educated in the Tri-City school district and completed his education in Silver Springs, Md. with the hopes of joining the National Guard and obtaining his GED. Arthur is survived by his loving mother, Sharon Bryant of Mt. Ranier, Md.; his father, Marc Bell Sr. of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.; his loving son, Semaj; four sisters, LaToya, Dakota, Markia and Kendee; five brothers, Charles, Marc Jr., Markell, Marquis, Justin; and a host of aunts, uncles and other relatives. Arthur was predeceased by his maternal and paternal grandparents. Calling hours will be held on Thursday from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Garland Brothers Funeral Home. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the Graceland Cemetery.
Journey to a better life ends on the street
A day before applying for National Guard, Arthur Bell is stabbed near home
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, June 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Arthur Bell planned to get his GED and join the National Guard -- a journey he hoped to start on Friday by visiting the recruiting office near Albany Memorial Hospital.
Instead, the 20-year-old father was ambushed and cut down by a neighbor -- in full view of neighbors and a handful of children -- Thursday night in Park South after a dispute over stereo equipment that hardly worked, police and friends said.
Bell, of 112 Morris St., died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight from stab wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Police said Bell, a Schenectady native raised mostly in Maryland, was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. after a dispute with a man he knew.
Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, said Bell didn't just know his killer -- they were next-door neighbors.
Smith, 29, said a female neighbor had given her and Bell a piece of stereo equipment that did not work about a month ago.
But after Bell was able to repair it, the female neighbor's boyfriend -- whose name is being withheld by the Times Union because he has not been charged with a crime -- demanded it back, Smith said.
Detective James Miller, a police spokesman, said detectives have identified a suspect and were hunting for him Friday but declined to release the man's identity.
The two men quarreled about the stereo equipment Thursday evening as Bell and Smith's sister left to walk to nearby Lombardo's Grocery on New Scotland Avenue, Smith said. As the pair returned about 10 minutes later, she said, Bell was distracted, walking slowly and tossing something up in the air and catching it.
It was then -- according to Smith -- that the killer leaped from his porch and rushed Bell, knife in hand.
"He just jumped off the porch and went swinging," Smith said. "He didn't have a chance to put his hands up or anything. He got him the first time he swung."
Gravely injured, Bell managed to stagger forward, nearly in front of his own home, before collapsing in the street, where his attacker stabbed him several more times, Smith said.
Smith said the attack happened so close to children playing in the street on the warm evening that blood spattered on her young nephew's shoe.
As the killer fled, friends rushed to try to stop Bell's bleeding, Smith said.
Bell collapsed and, according to Smith, pleaded with paramedics to save him as they asked him questions to assess his condition.
"He said, 'My name is Arthur Bell, please help me. Help me,' " Smith recalled.
The two had been together for about 14 months, she said, and planned to move to Indiana for a fresh start next year once Bell was able to earn some money.
"He wanted to do better for himself and do better for his son and for us," Smith said of their blended family -- Bell's 10-month-old son, Semaj, whom he was working to regain custody of, and her own three children.
Smith described Bell, who would have turned 21 in August, as easy-going and quick with a smile and joke.
She said the two had thought about heading down to the riverfront for Thursday's Alive at Five concert but decided to stay home and play cards instead when it threatened to rain.
"If we went to Alive at Five, none of this would have happened," she said.
Killing arrest made
Albany man held in fatal knife attack over possession of a piece of stereo equipment
By JENNIFER GISH, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, June 27, 2010
ALBANY The day after a street-side memorial was held for the victim of a fatal stabbing, police charged an 18-year-old city man with the killing.
Police arrested Shaheem Johnson, of 9 Teunis St., Saturday morning and charged him with the killing of Arthur Bell, 20, who died from his wounds after he was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Morris Street.Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Albany City Criminal Court and sent to Albany County jail without bail.
Police say Johnson stabbed Bell several times because of a dispute about a piece of stereo equipment. Bell died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight Friday from wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Johnson had been staying at 110 Morris St., next door to where Bell lived, police and family said.Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, 29, said the men had no history of arguing and would sometimes relax and talk outside. The night of the fatal incident, however, Smith said, the men exchanged words about a stereo component Johnsons girlfriend had given to her and Bell.
It was broken and Bell had fixed it, she said; Johnson wanted it back. Smith said Johnson leapt from his porch and stabbed Bell when the couple returned home after walking to Lombardos Grocery on New Scotland Avenue.
Smith said she and Bells family were relieved by Johnson's arrest, which came the day after an impromptu memorial Friday attended by about 40 friends. Smtih said Bell's funeral is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday July 1 at Garland Bros. Funeral Home, 75 Clinton Ave.
Journey to a better life ends on the street
A day before applying for National Guard, Arthur Bell is stabbed near home
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, June 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Arthur Bell planned to get his GED and join the National Guard -- a journey he hoped to start on Friday by visiting the recruiting office near Albany Memorial Hospital.
Instead, the 20-year-old father was ambushed and cut down by a neighbor -- in full view of neighbors and a handful of children -- Thursday night in Park South after a dispute over stereo equipment that hardly worked, police and friends said.
Bell, of 112 Morris St., died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight from stab wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Police said Bell, a Schenectady native raised mostly in Maryland, was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. after a dispute with a man he knew.
Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, said Bell didn't just know his killer -- they were next-door neighbors.
Smith, 29, said a female neighbor had given her and Bell a piece of stereo equipment that did not work about a month ago.
But after Bell was able to repair it, the female neighbor's boyfriend -- whose name is being withheld by the Times Union because he has not been charged with a crime -- demanded it back, Smith said.
Detective James Miller, a police spokesman, said detectives have identified a suspect and were hunting for him Friday but declined to release the man's identity.
The two men quarreled about the stereo equipment Thursday evening as Bell and Smith's sister left to walk to nearby Lombardo's Grocery on New Scotland Avenue, Smith said. As the pair returned about 10 minutes later, she said, Bell was distracted, walking slowly and tossing something up in the air and catching it.
It was then -- according to Smith -- that the killer leaped from his porch and rushed Bell, knife in hand.
"He just jumped off the porch and went swinging," Smith said. "He didn't have a chance to put his hands up or anything. He got him the first time he swung."
Gravely injured, Bell managed to stagger forward, nearly in front of his own home, before collapsing in the street, where his attacker stabbed him several more times, Smith said.
Smith said the attack happened so close to children playing in the street on the warm evening that blood spattered on her young nephew's shoe.
As the killer fled, friends rushed to try to stop Bell's bleeding, Smith said.
Bell collapsed and, according to Smith, pleaded with paramedics to save him as they asked him questions to assess his condition.
"He said, 'My name is Arthur Bell, please help me. Help me,' " Smith recalled.
The two had been together for about 14 months, she said, and planned to move to Indiana for a fresh start next year once Bell was able to earn some money.
"He wanted to do better for himself and do better for his son and for us," Smith said of their blended family -- Bell's 10-month-old son, Semaj, whom he was working to regain custody of, and her own three children.
Smith described Bell, who would have turned 21 in August, as easy-going and quick with a smile and joke.
She said the two had thought about heading down to the riverfront for Thursday's Alive at Five concert but decided to stay home and play cards instead when it threatened to rain.
"If we went to Alive at Five, none of this would have happened," she said.
Killing arrest made
Albany man held in fatal knife attack over possession of a piece of stereo equipment
By JENNIFER GISH, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, June 27, 2010
ALBANY The day after a street-side memorial was held for the victim of a fatal stabbing, police charged an 18-year-old city man with the killing.
Police arrested Shaheem Johnson, of 9 Teunis St., Saturday morning and charged him with the killing of Arthur Bell, 20, who died from his wounds after he was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Morris Street.Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Albany City Criminal Court and sent to Albany County jail without bail.
Police say Johnson stabbed Bell several times because of a dispute about a piece of stereo equipment. Bell died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight Friday from wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Johnson had been staying at 110 Morris St., next door to where Bell lived, police and family said.Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, 29, said the men had no history of arguing and would sometimes relax and talk outside. The night of the fatal incident, however, Smith said, the men exchanged words about a stereo component Johnsons girlfriend had given to her and Bell.
It was broken and Bell had fixed it, she said; Johnson wanted it back. Smith said Johnson leapt from his porch and stabbed Bell when the couple returned home after walking to Lombardos Grocery on New Scotland Avenue.
Smith said she and Bells family were relieved by Johnson's arrest, which came the day after an impromptu memorial Friday attended by about 40 friends. Smtih said Bell's funeral is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday July 1 at Garland Bros. Funeral Home, 75 Clinton Ave.
Arthur L. Bell departed this life suddenly on June 25, 2010. Arthur was born in Schenectady, N.Y. on August 1, 1989. Arthur was educated in the Tri-City school district and completed his education in Silver Springs, Md. with the hopes of joining the National Guard and obtaining his GED. Arthur is survived by his loving mother, Sharon Bryant of Mt. Ranier, Md.; his father, Marc Bell Sr. of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.; his loving son, Semaj; four sisters, LaToya, Dakota, Markia and Kendee; five brothers, Charles, Marc Jr., Markell, Marquis, Justin; and a host of aunts, uncles and other relatives. Arthur was predeceased by his maternal and paternal grandparents. Calling hours will be held on Thursday from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Garland Brothers Funeral Home. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the Graceland Cemetery.
Journey to a better life ends on the street
A day before applying for National Guard, Arthur Bell is stabbed near home
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, June 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Arthur Bell planned to get his GED and join the National Guard -- a journey he hoped to start on Friday by visiting the recruiting office near Albany Memorial Hospital.
Instead, the 20-year-old father was ambushed and cut down by a neighbor -- in full view of neighbors and a handful of children -- Thursday night in Park South after a dispute over stereo equipment that hardly worked, police and friends said.
Bell, of 112 Morris St., died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight from stab wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Police said Bell, a Schenectady native raised mostly in Maryland, was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. after a dispute with a man he knew.
Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, said Bell didn't just know his killer -- they were next-door neighbors.
Smith, 29, said a female neighbor had given her and Bell a piece of stereo equipment that did not work about a month ago.
But after Bell was able to repair it, the female neighbor's boyfriend -- whose name is being withheld by the Times Union because he has not been charged with a crime -- demanded it back, Smith said.
Detective James Miller, a police spokesman, said detectives have identified a suspect and were hunting for him Friday but declined to release the man's identity.
The two men quarreled about the stereo equipment Thursday evening as Bell and Smith's sister left to walk to nearby Lombardo's Grocery on New Scotland Avenue, Smith said. As the pair returned about 10 minutes later, she said, Bell was distracted, walking slowly and tossing something up in the air and catching it.
It was then -- according to Smith -- that the killer leaped from his porch and rushed Bell, knife in hand.
"He just jumped off the porch and went swinging," Smith said. "He didn't have a chance to put his hands up or anything. He got him the first time he swung."
Gravely injured, Bell managed to stagger forward, nearly in front of his own home, before collapsing in the street, where his attacker stabbed him several more times, Smith said.
Smith said the attack happened so close to children playing in the street on the warm evening that blood spattered on her young nephew's shoe.
As the killer fled, friends rushed to try to stop Bell's bleeding, Smith said.
Bell collapsed and, according to Smith, pleaded with paramedics to save him as they asked him questions to assess his condition.
"He said, 'My name is Arthur Bell, please help me. Help me,' " Smith recalled.
The two had been together for about 14 months, she said, and planned to move to Indiana for a fresh start next year once Bell was able to earn some money.
"He wanted to do better for himself and do better for his son and for us," Smith said of their blended family -- Bell's 10-month-old son, Semaj, whom he was working to regain custody of, and her own three children.
Smith described Bell, who would have turned 21 in August, as easy-going and quick with a smile and joke.
She said the two had thought about heading down to the riverfront for Thursday's Alive at Five concert but decided to stay home and play cards instead when it threatened to rain.
"If we went to Alive at Five, none of this would have happened," she said.
Killing arrest made
Albany man held in fatal knife attack over possession of a piece of stereo equipment
By JENNIFER GISH, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, June 27, 2010
ALBANY The day after a street-side memorial was held for the victim of a fatal stabbing, police charged an 18-year-old city man with the killing.
Police arrested Shaheem Johnson, of 9 Teunis St., Saturday morning and charged him with the killing of Arthur Bell, 20, who died from his wounds after he was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Morris Street.Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Albany City Criminal Court and sent to Albany County jail without bail.
Police say Johnson stabbed Bell several times because of a dispute about a piece of stereo equipment. Bell died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight Friday from wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Johnson had been staying at 110 Morris St., next door to where Bell lived, police and family said.Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, 29, said the men had no history of arguing and would sometimes relax and talk outside. The night of the fatal incident, however, Smith said, the men exchanged words about a stereo component Johnsons girlfriend had given to her and Bell.
It was broken and Bell had fixed it, she said; Johnson wanted it back. Smith said Johnson leapt from his porch and stabbed Bell when the couple returned home after walking to Lombardos Grocery on New Scotland Avenue.
Smith said she and Bells family were relieved by Johnson's arrest, which came the day after an impromptu memorial Friday attended by about 40 friends. Smtih said Bell's funeral is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday July 1 at Garland Bros. Funeral Home, 75 Clinton Ave.
Journey to a better life ends on the street
A day before applying for National Guard, Arthur Bell is stabbed near home
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, June 26, 2010
ALBANY -- Arthur Bell planned to get his GED and join the National Guard -- a journey he hoped to start on Friday by visiting the recruiting office near Albany Memorial Hospital.
Instead, the 20-year-old father was ambushed and cut down by a neighbor -- in full view of neighbors and a handful of children -- Thursday night in Park South after a dispute over stereo equipment that hardly worked, police and friends said.
Bell, of 112 Morris St., died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight from stab wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Police said Bell, a Schenectady native raised mostly in Maryland, was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. after a dispute with a man he knew.
Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, said Bell didn't just know his killer -- they were next-door neighbors.
Smith, 29, said a female neighbor had given her and Bell a piece of stereo equipment that did not work about a month ago.
But after Bell was able to repair it, the female neighbor's boyfriend -- whose name is being withheld by the Times Union because he has not been charged with a crime -- demanded it back, Smith said.
Detective James Miller, a police spokesman, said detectives have identified a suspect and were hunting for him Friday but declined to release the man's identity.
The two men quarreled about the stereo equipment Thursday evening as Bell and Smith's sister left to walk to nearby Lombardo's Grocery on New Scotland Avenue, Smith said. As the pair returned about 10 minutes later, she said, Bell was distracted, walking slowly and tossing something up in the air and catching it.
It was then -- according to Smith -- that the killer leaped from his porch and rushed Bell, knife in hand.
"He just jumped off the porch and went swinging," Smith said. "He didn't have a chance to put his hands up or anything. He got him the first time he swung."
Gravely injured, Bell managed to stagger forward, nearly in front of his own home, before collapsing in the street, where his attacker stabbed him several more times, Smith said.
Smith said the attack happened so close to children playing in the street on the warm evening that blood spattered on her young nephew's shoe.
As the killer fled, friends rushed to try to stop Bell's bleeding, Smith said.
Bell collapsed and, according to Smith, pleaded with paramedics to save him as they asked him questions to assess his condition.
"He said, 'My name is Arthur Bell, please help me. Help me,' " Smith recalled.
The two had been together for about 14 months, she said, and planned to move to Indiana for a fresh start next year once Bell was able to earn some money.
"He wanted to do better for himself and do better for his son and for us," Smith said of their blended family -- Bell's 10-month-old son, Semaj, whom he was working to regain custody of, and her own three children.
Smith described Bell, who would have turned 21 in August, as easy-going and quick with a smile and joke.
She said the two had thought about heading down to the riverfront for Thursday's Alive at Five concert but decided to stay home and play cards instead when it threatened to rain.
"If we went to Alive at Five, none of this would have happened," she said.
Killing arrest made
Albany man held in fatal knife attack over possession of a piece of stereo equipment
By JENNIFER GISH, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, June 27, 2010
ALBANY The day after a street-side memorial was held for the victim of a fatal stabbing, police charged an 18-year-old city man with the killing.
Police arrested Shaheem Johnson, of 9 Teunis St., Saturday morning and charged him with the killing of Arthur Bell, 20, who died from his wounds after he was stabbed around 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Morris Street.Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Albany City Criminal Court and sent to Albany County jail without bail.
Police say Johnson stabbed Bell several times because of a dispute about a piece of stereo equipment. Bell died at Albany Medical Center Hospital shortly after midnight Friday from wounds to his chest and back, police said.
Johnson had been staying at 110 Morris St., next door to where Bell lived, police and family said.Bell's girlfriend, Alicia Smith, 29, said the men had no history of arguing and would sometimes relax and talk outside. The night of the fatal incident, however, Smith said, the men exchanged words about a stereo component Johnsons girlfriend had given to her and Bell.
It was broken and Bell had fixed it, she said; Johnson wanted it back. Smith said Johnson leapt from his porch and stabbed Bell when the couple returned home after walking to Lombardos Grocery on New Scotland Avenue.
Smith said she and Bells family were relieved by Johnson's arrest, which came the day after an impromptu memorial Friday attended by about 40 friends. Smtih said Bell's funeral is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday July 1 at Garland Bros. Funeral Home, 75 Clinton Ave.
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