Ladies, NYA Melinda Katz, the district attorney for Queens, revealed today that a man found guilty of shooting an NYPD officer during a foot pursuit in Jamaica last year has been sentenced to 39 years to life in prison.
After a jury found Devin Spraggins, 24, guilty of several crimes last month, including first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault of a police officer, and criminal possession of a weapon, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced him. Spraggins shot NYPD Detective Brett Boller while performing his duties in April 2023, which is the basis for the allegations.
On April 5, 2023, Spraggins struck a fellow traveler on an MTA bus close to 161st Street on Jamaica Avenue, starting the incident. The incident was responded to by rookie cops Anthony Rock and Boller, who were patrolling the Jamaica commercial sector. Spraggins fled after a brief altercation, which resulted in a foot pursuit. During the pursuit, Spraggins turned and shot Officer Boller at close range, breaking his hip and striking his femoral artery.
Trial testimony states that Spraggins tried to shoot the downed cop a second time, but his gun malfunctioned because his magazine had fallen. Then he pointed the gun at Officer Rock and ran into a parking garage nearby. Before being apprehended in the Bronx, Spraggins led police on a multi-borough search after fleeing the scene in a Lyft vehicle.
“This defendant used an illegal firearm to shoot a police officer and attempted to execute him in broad daylight,” said District Attorney Katz, emphasizing the seriousness of the offense. After a jury’s decision, this defendant was given a prison sentence.
After months of recuperation and emergency surgery, Officer Boller, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, lived. The 21-year-old Officer Rock was unhurt.
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