FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 10, 2023
Queens Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing School Bus,
Crashing into Numerous Vehicles and Causing Injuries to Other Drivers
Defendant Ignored Police Orders to Stop, Fled with Officers Holding on to Bus
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Queens man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing a school bus in East Flatbush and driving recklessly across multiple police precincts, damaging property and other vehicles, and injuring other drivers. The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted assault last month.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Today’s sentence holds this defendant accountable for his brazenly reckless conduct that caused mayhem across several communities and put countless lives at risk. Thankfully there were not more serious injuries to the police officers and the public.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Anthony Reyes, 44, of Jamaica, Queens. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully to seven years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted assault on February 10, 2023.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on December 2, 2021, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the defendant stole an unoccupied school bus, with keys in the ignition and the engine running from the driveway of a house on East 51st Street in East Flatbush in the 67th precinct. A call was placed to 911 to report the stolen bus, along with its GPS location.
Within a short period of time police officers saw the bus parked in the 75th precinct, near 138 Jackie Robinson Parkway, with the defendant in the driver’s seat. Police approached the vehicle and the defendant started to drive away, even though one officer was holding on to the vehicle. Eventually, the officer let go as the defendant fled in the bus.
Within approximately 30 minutes, in the confines of the 73rd and 75th precincts, the defendant rammed into the side of a building and continued driving. He then rammed into multiple vehicles, both parked and in the middle of the street stopped at a traffic light. Two of the vehicles still had individuals inside during the impact. One of the vehicles he struck was occupied by a woman, and police managed to pull her out of the vehicle before the defendant struck it a second time, dragging the vehicle down the street. Eventually, the defendant was apprehended by police in the confines of the 75th precinct. used in the shooting was recovered from a trashcan in front of a nearby building.
As a result of the incident, multiple people suffered minor injuries.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Aleena Peerzada and Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin Kinsella, of the District Attorney’s Blue Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kin Ng, Bureau Chief.
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