A jury convicted Jamaica resident Devin Spraggins of attempted murder in the first degree on Tuesday for shooting NYPD Detective Brett Boller after an altercation in April 2023.
Boller was a rookie cop when he was on routine patrol with his partner, NYPD Officer Anthony Rock, in the Jamaica business district when they confronted Spraggins after he assaulted a passenger on board an MTA bus.
Spraggins, 24, of 93rd Avenue in Jamaica, faces up to 40 years to life in prison after he was found guilty by the jury in Queens Supreme Court after they deliberated for approximately four hours. Trial openings began on Oct. 24, and closings occurred on Nov. 12.
“Devin Spraggins attempted to assassinate a New York City police officer in cold blood in April 2023, after he was stopped by cops for fighting with another passenger on an MTA bus,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
According to the charges and trial testimony, on April 5, 2023, at approximately 3:20 p.m., Spraggins was traveling on an MTA bus on Jamaica Avenue near 160th Street when he began to argue with a fellow passenger over a seat and then slugged him. The bus driver flagged down Officer Rock for help and he retrieved Office Boller, who was nearby assisting with an illegally parked vehicle. Both officers were 22 years old and had recently joined the NYPD and were patrolling the Jamaica business district.
The officers attempted to talk to Spraggins at the front of the bus, but he pushed Officer Boller and ran off. Officers Boller and Rock then chased after the suspect on foot. Spraggins turned toward the pursuing officer and drew his handgun from his waistband, and, in the process, dropped a loaded magazine on Jamaica Avenue. Spraggins then turned and kept running away from the officers. As Officer Boller caught up to Spraggins, he turned and shot Officer Boller. The bullet pierced his femoral artery and vein in his upper thigh and shattered his hip. Spraggins attempted to fire again at Boller, but there were no bullets left in the gun, as he dropped the magazine earlier in the foot pursuit.
Moments later, Spraggins racked the slide of his gun, took a shooter’s stance, and aimed at Officer Rock. Spraggins then ran into a parking garage, where he was seen on video surveillance footage taking off his black jacket and sweatshirt and leaving in a white T-shirt.
Police found a shell casing near the shooting scene and a magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 161st Street, where Spraggins was seen running from police before the shooting. Security camera video footage showed Spraggins at 161st Street and Hillside Avenue getting into a black Nissan, identified as a for-hire Lyft vehicle, that took him to a residence on 215th Street.
A search warrant executed the next day at the property produced information that 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.
Officer Boller underwent several life-saving surgeries for his gunshot injuries at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Dr. William Nugent, the trauma surgeon who performed two of the three emergency surgeries on the 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.
“The defendant shot Police Officer Brett Boller at point-blank range, and it was only because of extraordinary medical intervention that Officer Boller is alive today and this is not a murder case,” Katz said. “Justice was served, and I thank my prosecutors and the members of the New York City Police Department who helped secure this trial conviction.”
Officer Rock, who was not injured during the shooting, pushed his partner in a wheelchair out of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center nine days after he was shot to a crowd of their fellow officers from the 103rd Precinct. Many of those officers were in the courtroom with Boller’s father, NYPD Inspector Don Boller, and Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry to hear the guilty verdict on Tuesday.
“This case could not have been any clearer,” Hendry said. “This individual was carrying a loaded gun on our streets. He attacked an innocent bus passenger for no reason. He was determined to get away with those crimes at any cost, even if it meant murdering a New York City police officer. He didn’t succeed thanks to the courage and skill of our brother Brett Boller and his fellow police officers.”
Officer Boller recently returned to modified duty and was promoted to detective last month. Spraggins was also convicted of aggravated assault of a police officer and assault of an officer. Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder set sentencing for Spraggins on Dec. 2. He faces up to 40 years to life in prison for the attempted murder charge.
“We’re grateful that he is being held accountable with this verdict,” Hendry said. “Now he must receive the longest sentence the law allows.”
Spraggins was also convicted of attempted assault in the first degree and menacing a police officer pertaining to Officer Rock, as well as two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. tampering with physical evidence and assault. Spraggins was acquitted of the attempted murder of Officer Rock.
