Jamaican man convicted of attempted murder in shooting of young police officer in April 2023: DA – QNS

A jury on Tuesday convicted Jamaica resident Devin Spraggins of attempted first-degree murder for shooting NYPD Detective Brett Boller following an altercation in April 2023.

Boller was a young police officer on routine patrol in Jamaica's business district with his partner, NYPD officer Anthony Rock, when they confronted Spraggins after he attacked a passenger aboard an MTA bus.

Spraggins, 24, of 93rd Avenue in Jamaica, faces up to 40 years to life in prison after a Queens Supreme Court jury found him guilty after deliberating about four hours. The openings of negotiations began on October 24th and the closings took place on November 12th.

“Devin Spraggins attempted to murder a New York City police officer in cold blood in April 2023 after he was stopped by officers for arguing with another passenger on an MTA bus,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

According to the charges and court testimony, at approximately 3:20 p.m. on April 5, 2023, Spraggins was traveling on an MTA bus on Jamaica Avenue near 160th Street when he began arguing with a fellow passenger for a seat and then punched him . The bus driver flagged down Officer Rock for help and he called 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 business district of Jamaica.

Officers attempted to speak to Spraggins at the front of the bus, but he pushed Officer Boller and ran away. Officers Boller and Rock then pursued the suspect on foot. Spraggins turned toward the pursuing officer and pulled his pistol from his waistband, dropping a loaded magazine on Jamaica Avenue. Spraggins then turned and continued to run away from the officers. When Officer Boller caught up with Spraggins, he turned and shot Officer Boller. The bullet pierced his femoral artery and vein in his thigh and shattered his hip. Spraggins tried to shoot Boller again, but there were no bullets left in the gun because he dropped the magazine earlier in the foot pursuit.

Moments later, Spraggins opened the slide on his gun, assumed a marksman's stance, and aimed at Officer Rock. Spraggins then ran into a parking garage, where he was seen on video surveillance footage removing his black jacket and sweatshirt and walking away in a white T-shirt.

Police found a shell casing and a magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition near the shooting at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 161st Street, where Spraggins was seen fleeing from police before the shooting. Surveillance video footage showed Spraggins getting into a black Nissan, identified as a rented Lyft vehicle, at 161st Street and Hillside Avenue and taking him to a residence on 215th Street.

A search warrant executed at the property the next day provided information that led law enforcement to an address in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, where Spraggins was taken into custody by the US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and NYPD investigators and returned to the 103rd Precinct was in Jamaica.

Officer Boller underwent multiple life-saving surgeries at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for his gunshot wounds. Dr. William Nugent, the trauma surgeon who performed two of the three emergency surgeries on the young police officer, praised his colleagues who acted quickly, carrying Boller to an NYPD vehicle and racing him to the hospital after the bullet shattered his right hip and pierced his femoral artery and femoral vein.

“The defendant shot Officer Brett Boller at close range, and it is only because of an extraordinary medical procedure that Officer Boller is alive today and this is not a murder case,” Katz said. “Justice has been served and I thank my prosecutors and the members of the New York Police Department who helped bring about this conviction.”

Officer Rock, who was not injured in the shooting, pushed his partner in a wheelchair from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center to a crowd of their colleagues from the 103rd Precinct nine days after he was shot. Many of those officers were in the courtroom Tuesday with Boller's father, NYPD Inspector Don Boller, and Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry to hear the guilty verdict.

“This case couldn’t have been clearer,” Hendry said. “This person carried a loaded gun on our streets. He attacked an innocent bus passenger for no reason. He was determined to get away with these crimes at any cost, even if it meant murdering a New York police officer. Thanks to the courage and skills of our brother Brett Boller and his fellow police officers, he did not succeed.”

Officer Boller recently returned to modified duty and was promoted to detective last month. Spraggins was also convicted of aggravated assault on a police officer and assault on an officer. Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder set Spraggins' sentence on Dec. 2. He faces up to 40 years to life in prison on the attempted murder charge.

“We are grateful that this verdict will hold him accountable,” Hendry said. “Now he must receive the longest sentence the law allows.”

Spraggins was also convicted of attempted first-degree assault and threatening a police officer in connection with Officer Rock, as well as two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Tampering with evidence and assault. Spraggins was acquitted of the attempted murder charge of Officer Rock.