Prosecutors on Friday charged a 15-year-old boy with dragging and critically injuring a cop in a swerving stolen car at speeds up to 56 mph.
Justin Murrell entered a packed Brooklyn courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back for his arraignment with detectives and police officers lining the walls.
Murrell allegedly dragged Officer Dalsh Veve in the stolen black Honda Civic more than two blocks on June 3 near Tilden Ave. and East 53rd St. in East Flatbush, after the cop tried to question him about a shooting, officials said.
“Officer Veve was holding on, attached to the car that made a sharp right turn and continue to accelerate,” Prosecutor Tim Gough said Friday.
“Officer Veve continued to hold on. The black box showed the car was going 56 mph."
Murrell swerved the car in an alleged effort to shake off Veve, prosecutors said.
Veve, 35, fired his gun twice as he was being dragged, with one round going through Murrell’s cheek and into his jaw.
“Officer Veve subsequently fell off the car, it crashed,” Gough said. “The defendant and the three occupants jumped out the car and fled the scene. Officer Veve suffered catastrophic head and brain injuries and remains in critical condition.”
The car was found crashed and abandoned on 53rd St. between Church Ave. and Snyder Ave.
The Civic had been reported stolen May 16 in Valley Stream, L.I., while its owner was delivering a pizza, police said.
Justin Murrell, dressed in a white t-shirt and light grey khaki pants, had no visible sign of the wound on his face. (KEVIN C DOWNS/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Prosecutors said after he abandoned the car, Murrell walked 15 blocks to Kings County Hospital, where he saw police cars outside.
He left, and instead took an Uber car to Brookdale.
Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called it an appalling and senseless crime.
Murrell’s lawyer Frederick Pratt said prosecutors have to prove the teen wanted to kill or injure Veve.
“The people have no evidence it was intentional. The strength of the case doesn't warrant these charges,” he said.
But the head of the city’s largest police union called the teen a “dirtbag.”
“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 of again,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Detectives escorted Murrell from Brookdale University Hospital where he was treated for the gunshot wound, and brought him to the 67th Precinct stationhouse and then Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Murrell, dressed in a white t-shirt and light grey khaki pants, had no visible sign of the wound on his face, though Pratt said he was still recovering.
His hand were unshackled during the arraignment and he kept them clasped during the 13-minute court appearance.
His lawyer Frederick Pratt earlier asked Justice Dineen Riviezzo for a 30-minute delay for his client's mother, who lives in Brownsville, to be in court. The judge granted the break until 11:30 a.m., and then the arraignment took place.
Murrell has 11 prior arrests, including a theft bust on May 16 and three robbery arrests in 2015. Each of those arrests ended up in family court because of his age.
The car was found abandoned on 53rd St. between Church Ave. and Snyder Ave. (MARC A. HERMANN/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
“He got probation for the first five arrests, but was sent to a non-secure holding facility in May 2016 on the sixth, which was for burglary, Gough said.
In July, he violated probation for an unspecified reason and was sentenced to another 12 months in the non-secure facility, Gough said.
Riviezzo ordered him held without bail. “I'm very concerned of his priors in the system,” he said.
“I need more information and then will entertain a bail application. Then his long history, allegations he was fleeing, concerned of his ability to return to court. The fact that he fles one hospital to avoid police then went to another is why I'm remand(ing)."
He was charged as an adult, but if convicted, would be sentenced as a juvenile to between three and 10 years in prison.
Two other people allegedly in the car Eboni Clinton, 19, and Jeronda Oliver, 18, face hindering prosecution charges for initially lying to investigators.
WITH THOMAS TRACY