A Brooklyn teenager accused of dragging an NYPD officer in a stolen vehicle has been indicted for attempted murder and assault, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office announced Friday.
Justin Murrell, 15, is accused of speeding off in the stolen vehicle, reaching 56 mph and intentionally weaving the car while officer Dalsh Veve, 35, held on for his life, the district attorney’s office said.
Murrell was arraigned Friday morning in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He was held without bail and is due back in court on Aug. 22, prosecutors said.
“The defendant in this case allegedly tried to escape during a lawful stop and, in doing so, seriously injured a dedicated police officer,” Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said following the indictment. “This appalling and senseless criminal behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent because we simply won’t allow anyone to put our police officers in harm’s way.”
Meanwhile, Veve remained in a medically induced coma at Kings County Hospital Center Friday afternoon, police said.
Veve, a nine-year veteran with the NYPD, was responding to a call of shots fired at the corner of Tilden Avenue and East 53rd Street in Flatbush on June 3 when he approached Murrell, who was sitting in a black Honda Civic with three others, prosecutors said. But as he walked up to the Civic, prosecutors said Murrell sped away with Veve still holding onto the car.
As Murrell drove for about 2 1/2 blocks, Veve managed to fire a shot into the vehicle before being flung off, striking the teen in the jaw, according to prosecutors. The officer hit his head on the pavement, according to a law enforcement source, and suffered neurological injuries.
Murrell crashed the Civic after being shot, and he and the three others in the vehicle ran off, according to prosecutors. He later walked to Kings County Hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound, but got spooked by cop cars outside and took an Uber to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center instead, they said.
Two women who were in the car — Eboni Clinton, 19, and Jeronda Oliver, 18 — were charged with hindering the prosecution following the incident.
Prosecutors said Murrell has a criminal history related to possession of stolen property and robbery.
Murrell had received sentences of 20 months probation for two robbery arrests in 2015 and an 18-month sentence in a juvenile facility for burglary that year, according to prosecutors.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
With Newsday
