The career burglar who was shot in the buttocks while attempting to rob a home in Maspeth last August pleaded guilty in the case and now faces 16 years to life in prison, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced on Tuesday.
On Aug. 1, 2016, police were alerted to a burglary-in-progress on the first-floor apartment at 55-38 66th St., off of Hull Avenue in Maspeth where they found Felix Perez, 38, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, hiding in a back room.
A struggle ensued over one of the responding officers’ firearms, and the cop discharged a single shot and struck Perez in the buttocks. He ran out of the house, but was quickly apprehended approximately a block away from the incident.
In a strange twist, Perez sued the city for $10 million back in February, claiming that the shooting gave him post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He took his case to Manhattan Federal Court where he represented himself as his lawyer.
It is unclear, however, if the city has viewed his complaint as of yet.
What is clear is that Perez, who pleaded guilty on Sept. 19 to the August 2016 burglary attempt, faces a long jail sentence because he has been determined to be a persistent felon, with six other burglaries on his rap sheet.
“In pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted to burglarizing a home in broad daylight — violating the sanctity of the victim’s residence — in an attempt to enrich himself by taking another person’s valuables,” Brown said in a statement. “As a persistent felon, the defendant will find himself incarcerated for a very long time as a result of this criminal act.”
Perez pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary; he is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13.
