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Jeromie Cancel, 22, was charged with the murder of Kevin Pravia, 19, but he was defiant as he left the 10th Precinct station in Chelsea Tuesday evening.

When asked why he committed the crime, Cancel responded, “Because I wanted to. You got problems with that?" before he was put into a police car.

Police say Cancel was being questioned in a different incident, involving petty larceny from his fathers house in Queens, when he admitted to killing Pravia, a Pace University sophomore.

Pravia, who lived in an off-campus apartment on 15th Street, was found by his roommate with an electric cord around his neck and a plastic bag stuffed into his mouth. The student's cellphone, laptop and iPod were also stolen.

The victim was last seen alive being helped into a taxi early Saturday morning. Police say Cancel told them that Pravia later approached him for drugs at Union Square Park and that the student invited him into his apartment.

Just outside Pravia's building, his friends set up a memorial Tuesday, leaving flowers and photos to remember the Massachusetts native.

“The kid was only 19 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. It’s just a drag,” said neighbor Chris Kuhn. “Gotta be real tough for the family. They sent him away to college, to get this kind of news.”

At Pace, some students were just learning the grim news.

“He seemed like nice. It’s just terrible that this happened. He was so close to us, you know?” said one student.

“It’s all the more personal when it’s at your school. It’s just sad for everybody,” said another.

Police said no drugs were found at the murder scene and there was no indication of sexual assault.