FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 27, 2019
Brooklyn Man Charged with Murder and Reckless Endangerment for Deliberately Chasing Down and Crashing His Car into Cyclist
Alleges He Saw Victim Breaking into Defendant’s SUV
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 41-year-old Brooklyn man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with murder and reckless endangerment for deliberately running over a cyclist in Bushwick who he allegedly observed breaking into his car.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Rather than call the police when he allegedly saw a crime being committed, this defendant allegedly turned his car into a deadly weapon and needlessly took a life. Lawless behavior cannot be tolerated, and we will now seek to hold this defendant accountable for his actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Korey Johnson, 41, of Ocean Hill, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree reckless endangerment. The defendant was remanded without bail and ordered to return to court on December 6, 2019. He faces a maximum sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, on September 3, 2019, at approximately 6 a.m., the defendant allegedly saw Donald Roberts, 47, breaking into the defendant’s 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on Broadway near Ellery Street in Bushwick. It is alleged that the defendant entered his car and chased after the victim as he biked off, deliberately speeding down Broadway and entering oncoming traffic during the pursuit. It is alleged that the defendant intentionally drove his Jeep into the victim, striking him from behind and crashing his SUV into a row of parked cars before the car flipped onto its side.
The victim was taken to Woodhull Hospital where he died from severe blunt force trauma. Police arrested the defendant at the scene of the accident after he was extracted from his vehicle.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Chow Xie of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.