ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Prince Belin talks about the shooting and his recovery.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — The victim of an Easter Sunday double shooting recovering from gunshot wounds said his best friend was senselessly murdered.
Prince Belin, 41, was struck by bullets on Exchange Street and his best friend, Leonardo “Lenny” Clement, 46, was fatally shot moments later.
“Lenny was more than a brother to me,” said Belin, who was just released from Massachusetts General Hospital.
“I loved him like sunshine. When we met four years ago at church, he shook my hand and I could feel the love in his touch.”
Last week, the Massachusetts State Police issued a warrant for William A. Cash, who authorities allege fired the gun.
In an interview Monday, Belin, a real estate agent, said he, his fiancee, and Clement, were walking downtown following services at the Zion Baptist Church. The trio was approached by a man driving a Chrysler that had stopped in the crosswalk, he said.
“This car came from nowhere and cut us off,” he said. “When I asked if I could help him, he said ‘I want to talk to her,’ and I told him ‘You don’t need to talk to her, that’s my fiancee,’ and he sped off.”
Just when they thought the ordeal was over, the man returned on foot, Belin said.
“I was holding my fiancee’s hand and a few feet behind me I could hear a man cursing,” Belin said. “Lenny was the first person he encountered and he told him to leave us alone.”
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At that point, the man told Clement, “Move or I’ll shoot you,” according to Belin. Before the trio could react, the man pulled out his gun and Clement swung a crate he was carrying to knock the gun out of his hands, Belin said.
“But he missed and the dude shot Lenny and then me,” he said. “As the man walked away, my fiancee asked if I was OK and begged me not to die and told me she loved me.”
Belin is convinced that if the shooter had not run out of bullets, he would have killed him and his fiancee.
Belin faced assault charges a year ago after allegedly pulling a gun on a woman. But the Essex County District Attorney’s Office later dropped the charges and Lynn police never found a gun.
“I was completely innocent,” Belin said.
Police are looking for Cash, 44, whose last known address was on George Street. He is described as a 5 foot 9 inch black man about 300 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Funeral arrangements have been set for Clement, a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind.
“Len was legally blind but somehow found a way to see the good in everyone,” said the Clement family in a statement. “Family and friends still can’t make sense of the loss of someone so gentle, peaceful, caring, and loving.”
Visiting hours will be Friday evening at the Zion Baptist Church from 5 to 8 p.m. The funeral will take place Saturday at the Greater Bethlehem Pentecostal Church at 10 a.m.
Tuesday night, the police and fire chief will address the City Council’s Public Safety and Public Health Committee on the rash of violence in the city.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].