In 60 seconds: The 17-year-old charged with murder in the October 17 NYC subway killing of Darrel Rodriguez was arraigned Thursday and ordered held without bail. Prosecutors pointed to photos of cash piles on his phone as evidence of gang ties — and his lawyer's response was one for the history books: with AI, he argued, those photos might not even be real.
- Xavian Collins, 17, charged as an adult with second-degree murder in the killing of Darrel Rodriguez, 26, was ordered held without bail at his Thursday arraignment.
- Prosecutors said his phone contained photos of "enormous piles of $100 bills" — evidence, they argued, of gang ties. His lawyer Michael Horn countered: "With AI, you could create any of them."
- Judge Rachel Pauley wasn't persuaded: she cited the allegation that he shot a man "in broad daylight in the New York City transit system at point-blank range."
- The dispute that led to the shooting may have been over smoking; the two did not know each other. Rodriguez, a Bronx security guard, was caring for his ailing father.
The subway killing case took a strange turn in court Thursday — the kind of moment that makes lawyers across the country sit up. The teenager accused of gunning down a stranger on a Midtown platform is now fighting the charges with a defense that belongs to the AI era.
Read our earlier coverage: the original shooting report and the surrender and murder charges.
What happened
On Thursday, the 17-year-old who surrendered to police in the killing of Darrel Rodriguez faced a judge for the first time. Identified in court as Xavian Collins, he is charged as an adult with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a loaded weapon.
The arraignment's sharpest exchange wasn't about the shooting itself — it was about photos on the teen's phone. Prosecutors from the Manhattan DA's office said Collins left his phone behind containing images of "enormous piles of $100 bills," which they presented as evidence of gang ties.
His lawyer, Michael Horn, had an answer straight out of 2026: "I see these photos and who knows these days if they're real or not," Horn told the court. "With AI, you could create any of them. The stack [of cash], I see, has a $5 bill on top."
Judge Rachel Pauley wasn't buying it. She ordered Collins held without bail, saying: "The allegations include the fact that he shot an individual in broad daylight in the New York City transit system at point-blank range, which led to this person's death."
Latest verified facts
- The accused: Xavian Collins, 17, charged as an adult — meaning he faces adult penalties despite his age. He turned himself in Thursday with his lawyer; he has no prior arrests, according to earlier reporting.
- The victim: Darrel Rodriguez, 26, of the Bronx, worked as a security guard at the front desk of a Manhattan building. Neighbors described him as a "beautiful kid" who was caring for his ailing father. He leaves behind two brothers, including a twin who serves in the military and lives in Texas.
- The encounter: sources say the two had some kind of dispute — possibly over smoking on the train — around 12:20 p.m. at the Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street station on October 17. They did not know each other.
- The flight: prosecutor Madeline Holbrook told the court Collins "threw on a mask and put his hood up to conceal his ID" after the shooting.
- The ruling: no bail. Collins remains in custody as the case proceeds.
The 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue station in Midtown Manhattan, where the October 17 shooting took place (file photo). Photo: Tdorante10 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Why it matters
Two things make this arraignment bigger than one case. First, charging a 17-year-old as an adult in a murder case is always a major decision — it changes everything about the penalties he faces. New York treats murder at 17 as an adult crime, and prosecutors clearly intend to try him that way.
Second — and this is the genuinely new part — a defense lawyer just tried an "AI did it" argument in open court to discredit digital evidence. As AI-generated imagery gets harder to tell from real photos, expect this defense to show up in courtrooms everywhere. Judges are going to have to figure out where legitimate doubt ends and theater begins. Judge Pauley drew her line fast.
Impact on the USA and the world
The killing has fed a national conversation about transit safety that isn't going away. The shooting happened in broad daylight on a crowded platform at one of Midtown's busiest transfer points — the kind of place millions of Americans pass through without thinking twice.
The AI-defense angle gives the case a second life beyond New York. Criminal defense attorneys nationwide are watching how courts handle AI-generated-evidence challenges, and this arraignment just became an early data point. Honestly, "the photos could be AI" is going to be heard in courtrooms from here on out.
A staircase exit at the Seventh Avenue station (file photo). Photo: Busition / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
What happens next
With no bail granted, Collins stays in custody while the case moves forward. Here's what's still open:
- The weapon: whether investigators have recovered the gun used in the shooting.
- The motive: the smoking-dispute account comes from sources; prosecutors haven't confirmed it.
- The gang claim: the DA's office raised gang ties based on the phone photos — expect that fight to continue, AI argument and all.
- The indictment: a grand jury will decide whether to indict on the murder charge, and the case will proceed in adult criminal court.
Our take: the arraignment answered the biggest immediate question — he's not getting out — but it opened a stranger one. If "the photos could be AI" becomes a standard defense, every prosecutor's digital evidence gets a little shakier. This story is still developing, and we'll keep following it.
Sources
- New York Post — "Lawyer for accused NYC subway shooter uses strange 'AI' defense after 17-year-old suspect busted on murder charge" (Oct 22, 2026)
- Fox5 NY — "Teen arrested for Midtown Manhattan subway shooting, NYPD says" (Oct 22, 2026)
- NBC New York — "Midtown subway killer surrenders to police, source says" (Oct 22, 2026)
Read our earlier coverage: original shooting report · surrender and charges