The man accused of killing his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend as she pushed their baby in a stroller on the Upper East Side was sent to jail without bail Saturday for a crime prosecutors called “premeditated execution.”
Isaac Argro, 22, was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday night on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree weapons possession as the distraught mother and sisters of his alleged victim Azsia Johnson looked on.
Johnson, 20, was shot at point-blank range near Lexington Avenue and East 95th Street Wednesday as she pushed her 3-month-old baby in a stroller to meet with Argro, who had recently been trying to get back in the health care worker’s good graces after months of abuse and threats, police and family members said.
Argro was dressed in all black and wore a ski mask as he paced back and forth while waiting to kill his estranged girlfriend, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Brittany DeCesare told Judge Eric Schumacher.
DeSort hugs her daughters outside the courthouse.James Keivom
“This case can only be described as a premeditated execution. The defendant persuaded the victim to meet after work and under the guise that he wanted to give the deceased items for their 3-month-old daughter,” DeCesare said, as the victim’s mother, Lisa DeSort, began crying inconsolably.
“The defendant shot the mother of his child at point-blank range in the head, keeping his crying 3-month-old [daughter] in the stroller as he ran away,” the prosecutor said.
After committing the heinous murder, Argro called Johnson’s family and asked where his child was while threatening that another unidentified person was “next,” officials alleged.
“With respect to bail your honor, the people are requesting that the defendant be remanded. This case can only be described as a premeditated execution,” DeCesare told the judge.
Johnson was fatally shot while walking with her 3-month-old daughter on the Upper East Side.
DeSort bashed Queens County for not listening to her daughter’s domestic violence report prior to her death.James Keivom
After Schumacher remanded Argro to jail without bail, the suspected killer asked the court for protective custody and medical attention.
He is set to return to court on July 7 and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
“I thought that I could be stronger than what I was but I did have a little moment of a breakdown because it’s the first time I actually heard what really happened in chronological order,” Lisa DeSort told The Post after court.
“To be honest, I wanted to jump up and scream out, ‘coward,’” she explained. “‘You’re not a man, you’re a monster.” That’s what I wanted to scream out.”
Isaac Argro, Johnson’s alleged killer, is being held in jail without bail.James Keivom
DeSort said her daughter’s alleged killer was a wannabe gang member who her family had nicknamed “Angry Bird.”
“I honestly allowed you into my home. I don’t allow people into my home. I tried to treat you like a son. I wanted you to be a part of your daughter’s life. But you couldn’t be civil. That’s all we wanted. That’s all my daughter wanted,” she said when asked what she would say to Argro.
DeSort thanked the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams for the city’s quick response to the case. Argro was arrested two days after the killing at his Brooklyn apartment building, which is also home to members of the slain woman’s extended family.
Argro was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree weapons possession.DANIEL WILLIAM MCKNIGHT
After shooting Johnson, Argro allegedly left his daughter in the stroller and ran away.gofundme
However, the grieving mother did blame the city for ignoring her daughter’s complaints of abuse and stalking. At one point when Argro threatened to kill DeSort, a domestic abuse counselor dismissed the remark as “freedom of speech,” she claimed.
“I’m very disappointed in the borough of Queens. When my daughter did reach out, she was abused and she was assaulted, which was documented. She reached out and I reached out numerous times with threats and stalking … we were kind of shoved off and pushed off.,” DeSort said.
The 3-month-old girl and Johnson’s other young child were being cared for by extended family members.
“The baby’s perfectly fine and in great hands,” DeSort said, through a broad smile. “Both babies, as a matter of fact”