MORE ON FABOLOUS CASE

A suspect was arrested in Georgia in the fatal stabbing of a pal of Fabolous outside a Manhattan club two weeks ago, police said Wednesday.

Anthony Taylor, 26, could be brought back from Atlanta as early as today to face murder charges in the death of 25-year-old Shamel McKinney.

McKinney died after getting into a fight Nov. 23 at the Duvet nightclub in the Flatiron neighborhood that investigators say appears to have been over $10,000 worth of chains Taylor was wearing.

Detectives learned that both men started scrapping in the club and were tossed out. McKinney was stabbed when the brawl continued outside. A bloody 7-inch switchblade was found in a nearby Dumpster.

Witnesses told cops McKinney, who had an arrest record for drugs and robbery, may have tried to steal Taylor's chains before he was killed.

Investigators suspect McKinney was part of a crew that steals jewelry at nightclubs and are trying to determine if Fabolous was in on it.

The rapper has denied the chain-snatching allegation, saying, "I do not want the young people who listen to my music and watch my videos to believe that I am engaged in any illegal activities that would discredit my character."

He has also denied being at Duvet, which boasts 30 beds framed by silk curtains, when McKinney was stabbed.

Taylor's uncle Keith, 44, was stunned by his nephew's arrest. "He's just not that type of person. I can't believe he did it.

"He was in the rap industry. He sold his own CDs on the street. That's it. He was just a quiet guy."

Police said Taylor, of Prospect Park South, had been arrested in New York for issuing a forged instrument, but gave no details.

At McKinney's home in Crown Heights, his aunt Shirley, 39, a Parks Department employee, said she was glad to hear of the arrest. "He deserves to do the time. You can run but you can't hide," she said. "He deserves what he has coming."

The aunt said her nephew was a "great father" who doted on his two boys, Jamel, 2 and Shamel, 6.