FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 6, 2023
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison
for Shooting Spree that Wounded Roommate and Two NYPD Officers
Defendant Pleaded Guilty to Attempted Murder in September
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Prospect Lefferts Gardens man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison following his guilty plea to second-degree attempted murder for shooting his roommate and then opening fire on four New York City Police Officers who responded to the roommate’s 911 call. The defendant fired three shots at the officers, wounding two of them.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a terrifying act of gun violence that underscores the dangers our police partners face every day on the job. We will never allow violence against law enforcement here in Brooklyn, and today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his deplorable actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Ridhwaan Abdur Rashid, 46, of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo to 12 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder on September 26, 2023.
The District Attorney said that on March 7, 2021, at approximately 9:11 p.m., four New York City Police Officers assigned to the 71st Precinct responded to a 911 call about a man shot by an emotionally disturbed person inside a second-floor apartment at 42 Hawthorne Street in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. According to the evidence, officers entered the building and were climbing the stairwell in a single-file line when the door to the apartment opened, and the defendant emerged. The officers engaged in a brief conversation with the defendant, who was draped in a blanket and speaking incoherently. The defendant then displayed an illegal .38-caliber handgun. After commands to drop his weapon, the defendant fired three times at the officers. One bullet clipped Police Officer Robert Aviles in his bulletproof vest; another grazed Police Officer Jonathan Landro in the leg. Officers returned fire but did not strike the defendant.
Furthermore, according to the evidence, the defendant then barricaded himself in the apartment while his wounded roommate, Damon Lindsay, 47, hid in an adjoining bedroom with his girlfriend. The standoff lasted for approximately one hour. At one point, Lindsay’s girlfriend waved a white shirt out of a window to signal for help and tossed a set of keys to officers outside so they could gain access to the apartment. An Emergency Services Unit was eventually able to extract the defendant from the apartment.
Lindsay was taken to the Kings County Hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the leg and later released. Officer Aviles and Officer Landro were also taken to Kings County Hospital where they were treated and released.
A search warrant was obtained for the apartment. In addition to the 38-caliber handgun, an illegal shotgun and rifle were also removed. In May 2022, Lindsay pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to probation.
The District Attorney thanked NYPD’s Force Investigation Division and KCDA Supervising Paralegal Aneudy Mata for their assistance on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Boykin, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Danyelle Shapiro, also of the Green Zone, and Senior District Attorney Jonathan Visotzky, formerly of the Green Zone, under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano, Green Zone Bureau Chief.
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