Devin Spraggins was indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned Wednesday, May 3, on two counts of attempted murder in the shooting of rookie cop Brett Boller in Jamaica last month.
Spraggins, 22, who was living at the Housing Bridge shelter for the homeless on 93rd Street at the time of the shooting, was arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder on an indictment charging him with the following: two counts of attempted murder in the first degree; two counts of attempted murder in the second degree; two counts of assault in the first degree; aggravated assault of a police officer; assault of a police officer; attempted assault in the first degree; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; menacing a police officer; two counts of tampering with physical evidence; obstructing governmental administration in the second degree and assault in the third degree.
If convicted, Spraggins faces up to 40 years to life in prison for each charge of attempted murder in the first degree.
According to the charges, on April 5, at approximately 3:20 p.m., Spraggins punched a fellow passenger on an MTA bus traveling on Jamaica Avenue near 160th Street. The bus driver flagged down NYPD Officer Boller and his partner, Officer Anthony Rock, for assistance.
The officers, both 22 years old, tried to talk to Spraggins at the front door of the bus, but he pushed Officer Rock and ran off. Boller and Rock chased Spraggins. As Boller caught up to Spraggins, the defendant turned and shot him. After Boller fell to the ground, Spraggins continued to point the gun at him attempting to fire. Moments later, Spraggins racked the slide of the gun, took a shooter’s stance, and pointed the gun at Officer Rock.
After shooting Boller, Spraggins ran into a parking garage. Video surveillance showed him removing his black jacket and sweatshirt and leaving in a white T-shirt.
Investigators later found a shell casing near the shooting scene and a magazine loaded with 15 rounds at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 161st Street, where Spraggins was running before the shooting.
Security camera footage showed Spraggins at 161st Street and Hillside Avenue getting into a black Nissan, identified as a Lyft for-hire vehicle, that took him to a residence on 215th Street.
A manhunt ensued, and a search warrant was executed at the property on April 6. Information obtained at the home led law enforcement to an address in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, where Spraggins was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and NYPD detectives and returned to the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica.
“The brazen shooting of a police officer in broad daylight will not go unanswered,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “I want to thank the staff from my office that assisted in the investigation with the NYPD and federal law enforcement to quickly apprehend the defendant. We will not let up in our efforts to get guns off the street and keep our officers and communities safe.”
Boller, 22, underwent several life-saving surgeries at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Dr. William Nugent, the trauma surgeon that performed two of the three emergency surgeries on the wounded rookie cop, gave credit to his fellow officers who acted quickly and carried Boller to an NYPD vehicle, racing him to the hospital after the bullet shattered his right hip and pierced his femoral artery and femoral vein. He is currently undergoing physical therapy and is expected to return to active duty.
Officer Rock, who was not injured during the incident, pushed his partner out of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center nine days after the shooting to a crowd of their fellow officers from the 103rd Precinct.
Justice Holder ordered Spraggins to return to court on June 5. He is being held without bail on Rikers Island.
