The teenager with a long arrest record who allegedly was driving a stolen car when it dragged a Police Officer several blocks, leaving him fighting for life with serious head injuries, was indicted June 16 on charges including attempted murder in Brooklyn Criminal Court.An Assistant District Attorney said the car was going as fast as 56 miles an hour as Justin Murrell allegedly dragged Police Officer Dalsh Veve for more than two blocks. The officer was able to fire two shots, one of them striking the teen in his cheek, before falling from the rapidly accelerating vehicle, which later crashed.
‘Catastrophic Brain Injuries’
ADA Tim Gough noted that “Officer Veve suffered catastrophic head and brain injuries and remains in critical condition.”
The Honda Civic had been stolen three weeks earlier in Valley Stream, L.I., not far from the Queens border. Mr. Murrell had 11 arrests prior to this incident, including three in 2015 for armed robbery.
Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez called his actions both appalling and senseless, but the teen’s attorney, Frederick Pratt, questioned the severity of the charges, saying there was no evidence it was his intent to kill or seriously injure Officer Veve, who had been assigned to the 67th Precinct and was responding to a noise complaint when the vehicle and its occupants aroused his suspicion that they might have been involved in an earlier shooting.
But the critically-injured officer’s union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association was not inclined toward mercy. President Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement, “As Dalsh Veve, a dedicated and beloved police officer, lies in a hospital bed with his fellow officers vigilantly standing watch, we will do everything in our power to ensure that this dirtbag never has the opportunity to harm another NYC police officer or citizen again.”
While he was charged as an adult, however, Mr. Murrell if convicted would be sentenced as a juvenile, meaning he would receive no more than 10 years in prison.