FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Brooklyn Man Indicted for Attempted Murder of Two Police Officers
Following Early Morning Chase in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick
Faces up to 50 Years to Life in Prison if Convicted
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a Brooklyn man was arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder of a police officer and other charges for shooting at two police officers after menacing several officers and at least one civilian with a silver revolver in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant tried to kill multiple police officers, endangered many other innocent people and will now certainly be held accountable for all of the chaos and gun violence that he caused on the streets of Brooklyn. This case once again underscores the dangers our police officers face every day to keep us all safe.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Fredrick Funes, 34. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Miller on a 37-count indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder of a police officer, attempted aggravated murder, second-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault upon a police officer and other charges. The defendant was ordered held without bail and to return to court on June 2, 2016.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on February 20, 2016, at approximately 3:20 a.m., there was a shot spotter activation (a report of shots fired) in the vicinity of Malcolm X Boulevard and Quincy Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. At approximately the same time, the defendant was allegedly spotted driving a Nissan Maxima recklessly in the vicinity of Malcolm X Boulevard, then driving the wrong way on Quincy Street. Shortly thereafter, the defendant spotted two uniformed police officers in a marked police car and allegedly pointed a silver gun at them.
Furthermore, according to the investigation, the defendant continued driving and allegedly spotted a uniformed Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker and pointed a silver gun at him. The MTA worker then flagged down officers who were already searching for the defendant, pointing them in his direction.
As he fled, the defendant allegedly passed an unmarked police car with four officers inside and pointed a silver gun at them. As the pursuit continued, the defendant drove the wrong way down Lexington Avenue and arrived at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard at the same time that a marked police car from the 83rd precinct was turning the right way from Malcolm X Boulevard onto Lexington Avenue. As the marked car made the turn, the defendant sped up and crashed into it. Following the crash, the defendant began firing at the officers and they returned fire.
Police Officer Andrew Yurkiw was shot in the chest, but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Police Officer Reddin was shot in the lower back/hip area and required surgery.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Chief of the District Attorney’s Grey Zone Trial Bureau, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorneys Krystyn Tendy and Steven Michelen, also of the Grey Zone.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.