Glendale Man Ran Down Cop On Street
A Glendale man is serving the next five years behind bars after admitting to assaulting a police officer in a failed flight from the law following his arrest in June, prosecutors announced last Friday, Oct. 3.
Bryan McMenamin (right), 39, of 67th Place pled guilty on Aug. 8 to second-degree assault before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin- Brandt. During his sentencing hearing last Thursday, Oct. 2, the judge ordered him to serve five years in prison and five years’ probation.
“This case underscores yet again the dangers police officers face every day serving and protecting the citizens of New York City,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement. “The sentence imposed by the court is fitting considering the seriousness of the crime.”
Law enforcement sources said McMenamin and a second individual-Peter Zacharakis, 51, of 118th Street in Kew Gardens-were arrested on June 16 by members of the NYPD Queens North Narcotics Unit at the corner of Central Avenue and 66th Street in Glendale.
Reportedly, the officers stopped the pair inside a station wagon after observing Zacharakis, who was behind the wheel, making an illegal left turn .
During questioning, police noted, Zacharakis produced a forged driver’s license; a gravity knife was also spotted in the vehicle’s center console.
The officers then reportedly searched the vehicle and both men, recovering a machete, a pellet gun and nine glassine envelopes and a plastic bag, each of which contained quantities of heroin.
Both Zacharakis and McMenamin were arrested, handcuffed and placed in an NYPD van.
At around 6:55 p.m. that day, prosecutors said, officers stopped and exited from the van at the corner of Cooper Avenue and 59th Street to assist other police officers in an unrelated matter. The keys were reportedly left in the ignition and the handcuffed McMenamin and Zacharakis remained in the van.
While the officers responded to the unrelated matter, authorities stated, McMenamin managed to maneuver his handcuffed wrists from his back to the front, then climbed behind the wheel of the van and began to drive away.
Prosecutors said an NYPD officer noticed and grabbed hold of a side door as McMenamin moved the van. The officer was reportedly dragged a block before losing his grip; McMenamin then sped away.
The injured detective was treated at a local hospital for various injuries including severe skin scrapes and ligament damage to one of his legs.
McMenamin, meanwhile, drove to the intersection of Decatur Street and Myrtle Avenue, near the Ridgewood post office, and ditched the van, according to police.
Zacharakis waited for police to arrive; he was later taken into custody without incident.
Following an extensive manhunt, police located McMenamin hiding out in a Manhattan apartment the following day.
Assistant District Attorney Francis J. Longobardi of the DA’s Narcotics Investigation Unit prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Wilbert J. LeMelle, bureau chief, Karen J. Friedman, deputy bureau chief, and supervisors Philip D. Anderson and Julie S. Trivedi.
