By Eric Jankiewicz
Demetrius Blackwell, the suspected cop killer, has a long history of arrests that go all the way back to his teenage years.
Police Officer Brian Moore died Monday at Jamaica Hospital. He was shot in the head on Saturday evening while he was on patrol with his partner. Police Commissioner William Bratton – flanked by hundreds of cops – made the announcement outside the hospital, where doctors tried to save 25-year-old Moore by putting him into a coma. So far he has been charged with attempted murder and weapons possession, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office. Blackwell’s case was going before the grand jury this week and it’s likely he will be arraigned murder one charges, a spokeswoman for the office said.
Blackwell sits in Westside Facility. On May 6 he made his first appearance in court and his next court date is set for May 27.
Blackwell was first arrested in 1995, when he was 15 years old, for robbery, according to police. That same year, he was arrested for robbery again. By 1999, he had been arrested for criminal possession of a weapon. Most of the arrests took place in the 105th Precinct, which covers Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Glen Oaks, Springfield Gardens and Rosdale. Moore was shot in the head in Queens Village very close to where Blackwell grew up and was living.
Most of his arrests involved robbery and assault charges, like his most recent charge in 2013, when he was arrested for robbery, according to police. In total, he has been arrested 10 times. Many of the cases that resulted in the arrests are confidential under a seal. Others are open to the public.
On Sept. 2, 2000, Blackwell was charged with attempted murder, among other counts. He pleaded guilty to the charges and in 2001 he was sentenced to five years in jail.
According to the criminal complaint, Blackwell held up a man named Andre Willingham at gunpoint and took his wallet. Blackwell left with the goods, but Willingham decided to get in his car and follow Blackwell, who was on foot. But Blackwell noticed that he was being followed so he fired four times at Willingham. Two bullets hit Willingham’s passenger door.
That same year, 2000, Blackwell was arrested another two times, once for criminal possession of marijuana and once for assault, according to the police.
Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejank
