Glendale Man Arraigned For Assaulting Officer
The Glendale man accused of assaulting a detective while attempting to escape inside a police vehicle after a drug bust last week remains locked up without bail, according to authorities.
Bryan McMenamin, 38, of 67th Place appeared in Queens Criminal Court last Wednesday, June 18, for arraignment on charges including third- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree escape, tampering with physical evidence, petit larceny and reckless driving.
Queens Criminal Court Judge John Zoll remanded him without bail and ordered McMenamin to return to court on July 16. The suspect faces a maximum of 25 years behind bars if convicted.
Further details about the incident were released by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown in a press release issued following McMenamin’s arraignment last Wednesday.
Reportedly, the trouble began at about 6:15 p.m. last Monday, June 16, at the intersection of Central Avenue and 66th Street, where police observed McMenamin and a cohort-identified as Peter Zacharakis, 51, of 118th Street in Kew Gardens-inside a 1999 Saturn station wagon.
Officers stopped the vehicle after observing Zacharakis, who operated it, making an illegal left turn.
In questioning the driver, prosecutors stated, Zacharakis allegedly presented a forged state driver’s license. Police reportedly observed a gravity knife in the vehicle’s center console.
Seconds later, the officers searched the vehicle and the two suspects; a machete and a pellet handgun were found in the station wagon, while nine glassine envelopes and a plastic bag-each of which contained heroin-were located in Zacharakis’ pockets.
According to law enforcement sources, Zacharakis allegedly told the officers McMenamin gave the heroin to him previously.
Both men were subsequently arrested by the officers, handcuffed and put into a police van.
At about 6:55 p.m. last Monday, as previously reported, the officers stopped the van at the corner of Cooper Avenue and 59th Street in order to assist other officers in an unrelated police matter.
The suspects remained in the vehicle.
While the officers were out of the vehicle, authorities stated, McMenamin allegedly managed to move his handcuffed wrists from his back to the front, then climbed behind the wheel of the van and began to drive away.
Reportedly, a detective from NYPD Patrol Borough Queens North observed the suspect driving away and grabbed hold of the driver’s side door.
Prosecutors said McMenamin allegedly put the van in reverse and sped away, dragging the detective for a block.
After the detective fell, McMenamin reportedly sped away and eventually ditched the vehicle near the intersection of Decatur Street and Myrtle Avenue, adjacent to the Ridgewood post office.
Police sources stated McMenamin took Zacharakis’ cell phone and items which police confiscated from them, then fled on foot in an unknown direction. Zacharakis reportedly remained inside the vehicle and waited for police to arrive.
Officers located the abandoned police van and took Zacharakis into custody without incident.
He was arraigned last Tuesday, June 17, on charges including criminal possession of a weapon and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
The injured detective, meanwhile, was rushed to a local hospital for treatment of injuries including a possible torn ligament and severe skin scrapes.
Based on information obtained during its investigation, police located McMenamin last Tuesday afternoon as he slept inside an apartment in Manhattan’s East Village.
