Demetrius Blackwell. Reuters
A Queens man has been found guilty of first-degree murder for the May 2015 slaying of NYPD Officer Brian Moore.
Jurors took about seven hours to convict Demetrius Blackwell of the murder rap Thursday. He faces up to life behind bars when sentenced.
Blackwell was also found guilty of attempted murder related to Moore’s partner, Erik Jansen, who took the stand against him during the three-week trial.
Jansen, who was in court to hear the verdict, told the panel of seven women and five men that Blackwell opened fire on them when Moore called him out for adjusting his waistband.
“Brian said, ‘Police, man,’ held up his shield and said, ‘You holding something? You got something on you?!’” Jansen testified. “He said, ‘Yeah, I got something!’ and he turned right towards the car and shot Brian.”
Moore, 25, was hit in the head, and died in the hospital. Jansen later fingered Blackwell in a lineup.
Jurors heard the harrowing last moments of the young cop’s life, as responding officers recalled the bloody dash to the hospital in an attempt to save him.
“My leg started to get warm and hot from the blood,” said Sgt. Christopher Noll, who held a bleeding Moore as he was rushed to the ER. “When I lifted him, I saw he had been shot in the head. He began to scratch my arms, my hand was on his face and must have went right into the area where he was shot.”
More cops took the stand to say that Blackwell, who was found hiding in plain sight, sobbed in the back of a patrol car after he was picked up for questioning — and later feigned a seizure in the interrogation room.
Blackwell’s attorney unsuccessfully argued that his client suffered from mind-altering seizures that left him not responsible for his actions.