Death On The Dance Floor

Rhoan Gooden was a happily married man with two young children. He worked as a security guard at the Tropical Nights Club in Toronto, and sometimes took extra shifts to make extra money to help pay for his new home.

Rhoan was working one of those extras shifts on the night of August 4, 2002 when cops say that Richard Newman entered the club with several of his friends. They say Rhoan approached Newman and told him to remove his headband and stop smoking his cigarette, because the club banned gang style clothing and smoking.

Although Newman argued with Rhoan, Newman did take the headband off. But a few minutes later he was seen putting it back on. And cops say he planned to get back at Rhoan for hassling him.

About half an hour later, near closing time, cops say that Newman approached Rhoan while he stood near the dance floor, pulled out a gun and fired a single shot into Rhoan's stomach. Rhoan Gooden was critically wounded, and died two days later. Newman hasn't been seen since.

AMW Capture #800

Living Low On The Lam

On August 4, 2002, police say Richard Newman shot an innocent man in Toronto, Canada -- then seemingly disapppeared off the face of the earth. For nearly two years Newman managed to stay out of sight. He was probably just starting to feel like he'd evaded justice.

But one airing on America's Most Wanted was all it took to nab Newman. On June 12, 2004, AMW broadcast Newman's face and his story. Tips to AMW's hotline placed him in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn where it turns out Newman was getting by working odd jobs as a handyman.

Canadian authorities enlisted the help of the US Marshals Service. They followed the tips, but Newman was one step ahead of them. Marshals say the accused killer fled Brooklyn just after his television debut on AMW.  For a while, it looked as though Newman was going to slip away again.

But then another tip came in; Newman was back in Brooklyn.  On the morning of July 2, 2004, Marshals made their move on an apartment building where they knew Newman was hiding in the basement.  

Newman was there all right, but Marshals say he didn't want to go in easy; when they knocked on the door shots rang out.  Newman, they say, was firing at them through the door. Deputies immediately took cover and returned fire.  When the smoke cleared, Marshals found none of their squad had been hit.  After some tense minutes, Newman made the smart move and gave himself up. 

Now the accused murderer is facing more charges of trying to kill federal agents, so he's in hot water on both sides of the border.