New York ( CNN ) -- One of four victims injured nearly three decades ago by Bernhard Goetz , a man New Yorkers once dubbed `` the subway vigilante , '' has been found dead , according to a source with knowledge of the investigation . James Ramseur , 45 , was found Thursday , exactly 27 years to the day after a controversial subway shooting catapulted him and the others into the national spotlight , highlighting strained race relations and fears of widespread crime in New York City during the 1980s . Ramseur was found unconscious in a Bronx motel room by motel staff members . The cause of his death was not immediately clear . Since that infamous 1984 shooting , Ramseur had a largely troubled life , having been convicted on rape and robbery charges . He was sentenced in 1986 for those crimes , and served 25 years behind bars , according to the state 's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website . `` It 's always sad when someone takes their own life , '' said former New York Mayor Ed Koch , who was in office at the time of the shooting . Koch 's comment was an apparent reference to media reports that say Ramseur died of a drug overdose . CNN can not independently confirm that account . Goetz shot Ramseur and three other African-American teenagers on December 22,1984 , aboard a Manhattan subway car . The four victims said they were panhandling for money to play video games and had asked Goetz for $ 5 . Goetz , a white man , testified that he felt threatened and thought he was being robbed , and he fired several rounds into the youths . A jury acquitted Goetz of murder and assault charges in the shooting , but convicted him of illegal possession of a weapon . He served just over eight months behind bars . Lawsuits filed against Goetz were initially dismissed . But in 1996 , a jury awarded Darrell Cabey -- who was paralyzed in the shooting -- $ 43 million for his injuries . A judge later ruled that Goetz , who had filed for bankruptcy , was still liable to pay the sum . The shooting garnered national attention and came during a period of high crime in New York , said Mitchell Moss , professor of urban policy and planning at New York University . The city 's crime levels peaked in 1990 , noted Moss , when more than 2,200 homicides were reported across the five boroughs . As of Thursday , police reported that the city 's 2011 numbers tallied less than 500 . `` We really had a city out of control '' during the 1980s , Moss told CNN . `` New Yorkers were living in an environment in which they had really become accustomed to a high level of crime , some of this due to the crack cocaine epidemic , the economy and the shrinking of the police department . '' Some observers view the Goetz shooting as a low point in relations between blacks and whites in New York .
James Ramseur , 45 , is found dead in a New York CIty motel room . - May 30 : Goetz was a man New Yorkers once dubbed `` the subway vigilante ''