Three men arrested for execution-style killing of Bronx father of four

Three men were arrested Thursday for the execution-style killing of a father of four more than nine months after he was gunned down outside a Bronx smoke shop, cops said.

Kadin West, 23, Milan Wright, 19, and Jahrid Dawkins, 18, were captured by a joint task force consisting of NYPD officers and federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations and charged with murder for gunning down 33-year-old Ralph Herrera on Aug. 7, 2025, according to law enforcement.

Herrera was standing outside the Exotic World smoke shop where he worked on Westchester Ave. near Morrison Ave. in Soundview when he was attacked around 10:30 p.m., said police.

The gunman, who had the hood of his sweatshirt cinched over his face, was caught on video stepping up and shooting Herrera in the left side of the head at point-blank range.

Medics rushed the victim to Jacobi Hospital, where he died.

Herrera, whose friends called him “Chicken,” lived just around the block from where he was killed, according to officials.

The shooter was later recorded in the same area without the hood over his face, but was identified by his shirt and sneakers, cops said.

Police sources said Herrera had an extensive criminal history with 27 arrests, including one bust for possessing an illegal firearm.

Friends said Herrera, a Soundview native who was a huge Eminem fan, rapped under the stage name Xhixken Dondada and created a music video titled “Stolies.”

At one point, Herrera and the man who owned the studio where he recorded traveled to California, where they met Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle.

“Because of his energy, we met all these people,” his friend said.