A man jailed just 14 months after dragging an NYPD detective into a stolen car and leaving him paralyzed has been caught again after leading cops on a chase in a stolen car – while he was on for a separate chase was free on bail.
Justin Murrell, 20, led Port Authority officials to a car chase in a stolen car at John F. Kennedy Airport in February.
The stolen car was found days later and linked to him through surveillance video that caught him allegedly stealing cars at New York’s LaGuardia and JFK airports.
Murrell was arrested Monday while exiting a Brooklyn courthouse.
Justin Murrell, 20, led Port Authority officials in a stolen car chase at JFK. He is pictured here during a previous arrest in 2017 at the age of 15
Murrell, pictured last year, was out on bail in May 2021 for a previous chase after he hit a light
After being charged with criminal possession of stolen property and other felonies, he was then released under New York’s lax bail reform laws.
The recent chases surrounding JFK and his previous pursuit in May 2021 were similar to the one that changed Detective Dalsh Veve’s life forever.
Veve had responded to reports of gunfire in June 2017 while questioning Murrell, who was 15 at the time of the incident.
Murrell hit the gas pedal and dragged Veve two blocks down the street at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
Incredibly, Veve survived but was left confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak.
At Murrell’s trial, a jury found him guilty of assault, not attempted murder, which prosecutors were hoping for a conviction. He was sentenced to 1⅓ to four years in a juvenile detention center.
Det. Dalsh Veve is accompanied by his wife Esther daughter Dashi as he exits a rehab facility
New York police detective Dalsh Veve’s life was changed forever after Murrell dragged him down the street in his car at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. He was left paralyzed
Officer Veve is on trial for the 2019 conviction of Justin Murrell. Murrell was tried for the crime as an adult but sentenced to 1-1/3 to four years in prison as a juvenile for the incident
“This attempted cop killer represents everything that is currently wrong with our justice system,” Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement Tuesday.
“We tried to warn the city what would happen if he was released. Every free moment he spends is not just an insult to our hero brother and his family — he’s a real danger to New Yorkers.”
Murrell, an alleged gang member, was released in March 2020 and completed his parole in June 2021.
Before his parole expired, he was involved in a car accident in Brooklyn when police tried to stop him at a red light in East New York. Murrell crashed into three parked cars.
Although he pleaded guilty to the crime, Murrell was released on $25,000 bail. He will be sentenced on May 27th.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to see changes in bail reform laws
New York Mayor Eric Adams said he wanted to see changes in bail reform laws and other criminal justice measures, claiming they would lower the city’s crime rate and reduce gun violence.
In February, Adams, who last year campaigned to get people back to work and clean up the crime-ridden subway system amid the COVID pandemic, outlined his plans for city bail laws that can allow suspects to do so , often within hours of roaming the streets an arrest.
“Let’s abolish the cash bail system because you shouldn’t be able to get out of jail just because you can bail. Let’s take that away. Judges should look at the case before them and say, “This person has two gun arrests and he keeps telling the people of town I don’t care about your safety,” the mayor said.
“That judge should have the right to exercise discretion to simply detain that person.”
Changes to the system should not be too far away. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will propose reforms to the city’s bail laws in light of spikes in crime both in New York City and across the state.
A proposed 10-point plan will result in more bail acquittals and give judges greater discretion in locking up criminals based on whether or not they are repeat offenders.
Hochul, who faces elections in 2022 after replacing the disgraced Andrew Cuomo last August, will seek to include the plan in the state budget, which is due on Friday.
Perpetrators of gun crimes and subway and transit crimes could be arrested and held on bail if the plan goes into effect.
Shootings are up 9 percent in New York City, and overall crime is up a whopping 45 percent through mid-March.
The laws would allow police officers and judges to bypass Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been widely criticized for his soft-touch stance on crime, using cash bail only in the most serious cases.
