Teenager faces up to 10 years in prison for assaulting cop

December 18, 2018 By Christina Carrega Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New York Police Detective Dalsh Veve (center) leaves the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation with his wife, Esther (right) and daughter Dashi on May 7 in West Orange, New Jersey. Veve was critically injured in June 2017 when he was dragged by a driver in a stolen car. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

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A Brooklyn judge is expected to sentence a teenager next month for causing permanent injuries to an NYPD officer.

Justin Murrell was 15 years old when he used a stolen Honda Civic on June 3, 2017 to drag NYPD Officer Dalsh Veve behind the vehicle for more than two blocks in East Flatbush.

Murrell, now 17, was acquitted by a jury of attempted murder of a police officer charges, but convicted of first-degree assault charges. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Shillingford is expected to sentence Murrell on January 7 where he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison as a juvenile offender, as he was under 16 years old at the time of the incident.

“This defendant then callously dragged Officer Veve at a high rate of speed for several blocks, showing an appalling and intentional disregard for human life. Officer Veve suffered catastrophic injuries from which he will never recover,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

The teen’s attorney Natalie Peeples told the jurors in her opening statements that Murrell did not intend to injure Veve.

“This punk knew he had a police officer hanging off the side of the stolen car that he was driving, and he intentionally drove wildly in an attempt to kill the officer,” said Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.

“This jury fell for this baby-faced punk, and now it is imperative that the judge give him the maximum sentence for the conviction on the assault of a police officer charge.”

Veve, a 10-year veteran of the Anti-Crime Unit spent a year in the hospital for a traumatic brain injury. Prosecutors said he will never again be able to use the bathroom on his own or speak and is unable to recognize his wife or 4-year-old daughter.