You are reading

Flushing Man Gets 40 Years for Shooting at NYPD Housing Officers in 2016

Baisley Park Houses where the shooting took place (Google Maps)

Nov. 13, 2019 By Allie Griffin

A Flushing man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday for shooting at two plainclothes NYPD officers patrolling Jamaica’s Baisley Houses in 2016.

Jamel Ethridge, 40, was convicted of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon at a trial in March.

Ethridge shot at NYPD Lieutenant Melody Robinson and Police Officer Rafi Mashriqi on Oct. 28, 2016 while they were canvassing the Guy R. Boulevard housing complex around 9:30 p.m., according to the charges.

The officers, who were unharmed, fired back at Ethridge and a bullet struck his leg. Despite being wounded, Ethridge fled the scene and tossed the gun down a trash chute.

Police later recovered the weapon, a loaded 9 mm handgun, from inside the building’s trash compactor and found his fingerprint near the gun’s trigger, as well as his DNA on it, according to trial records.

“Police work is often a thankless and dangerous job,” Acting District Attorney John Ryan said. “These officers were protecting the building’s residents when they happened upon the defendant, who boldly pointed a pistol at them and fired a handgun. The defendant’s callous actions could have killed the two officers or any resident in the vicinity of the gunfire.”

Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Deborah Stevens Modica sentenced Ethridge to 25 years in prison on the attempted murder conviction and 15 years for illegally possessing a weapon. She ordered those sentences to run consecutively and begin after Ethridge completes the seven years he is currently serving on a previous weapons conviction.

“The sentence meted out by the Court today is more than warranted given the nature of this senseless act of gun violence,” Ryan said.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

2 Comments

Click for Comments 
rikki

Finally a judge who realizes its ILLEGAL GUNS that are the problem, no slapping the wrist of this criminal…….15 years added to the sentence….

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Shots fired as NYPD confronts suspected car theft crew at Flushing auto shop Friday morning

The NYPD opened fire on a car theft crew who were caught in the act of stealing vehicles in Flushing on Friday morning.

Police from the 109th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a burglary in progress at around 5:30 a.m. at the Express Auto Repair shop at 134-02 33rd Ave. Officers encountered a group of ten men who were in possession of firearms in a parking area near the intersection of Prince Street and 33rd Avenue. As the officers approached on foot, the gunmen jumped into several vehicles and attempted to flee at a high rate of speed toward the officers, an NYPD spokesman said. One officer discharged his service weapon as the vehicles fled northbound on Miller Street toward 32nd Avenue.

Queens voters to decide key Civil Court races in 2025 primary and general elections

Jun. 6, 2025 By Athena Dawson & Czarinna Andres

Queens voters will head to the polls this year to decide a mix of contested and uncontested Civil Court races, including three competitive Democratic primaries and multiple general election matchups. The contests span countywide vacancies and judicial seats in four Municipal Court Districts. The primary election will take place on Tuesday, June 24, with the general election set for Tuesday, November 4.