Bronx DA: Bronx Man Indicted For Attempted Murder Of Cop, Gun Charges In Incident That Began With Car Theft

BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF COP, GUN CHARGES

IN INCIDENT THAT BEGAN WITH CAR THEFT

AND ENDED IN COP SHOOTING HIM IN SELF-DEFENSE

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on Attempted Murder in the first degree, weapons charges, Grand Larceny and other related charges stemming from a chain of events that started with him allegedly trying to steal a vehicle and drawing a weapon on an NYPD officer trying to arrest him, and ending with the officer shooting and wounding the defendant on a Bronx street.

District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant has been indicted for Attempted Murder of a Police Officer and other charges in a skirmish on a Bronx street. The defendant allegedly resisted arrest for attempting to steal a car and then pointed a firearm at the police officer in the ensuing struggle, leading the officer to shoot him. This case illustrates how any crime can escalate into violence, and that someone possessing an illegal firearm is likely to use it.”

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Ronnie Cole, 58, of 2319 Morris Avenue was arraigned on September 9, 2019 on Attempted Murder in the first degree, Attempted Murder in the second degree, second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, first-degree Criminal Use of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, second-degree Obstructing Governmental Administration, Resisting Arrest, third-degree and fourth-degree Grand Larceny, third, fourth and fifth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Attempted Grand Larceny in the third degree, Attempted Grand Larceny in the fourth degree, Attempted Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the third degree, Attempted Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the fourth degree, third-degree Auto Stripping, fourth-degree Criminal Mischief, Attempted Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools  before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy. Remand was continued and the defendant is due back in court on November 18, 2019.

According to the investigation, on July 7, 2019, at Summit Avenue and West 166^th Street, the defendant was allegedly trying to steal a BMW sedan. Police Officers Diego Jimenez and Robert Knights of the 44^th Precinct, approached him and he claimed he owned the car and produced keys that did not work in the car’s lock.

As the officers moved to arrest him, Cole fled, and a struggle ensued between him and Police Officers Jimenez and Knights. Cole allegedly reached into his pants crotch for a 9-mm Ruger semi-automatic, pointed it at the officer and threatened the officer’s life. The cop pushed the gun away and drew his own weapon and shot Cole twice, in the chest and the arm. Cole was hospitalized for his wounds.

Cole had allegedly stolen a Dodge Dart vehicle days earlier. He had been released on parole on April 15, 2019 after serving 28 years for armed robbery.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Joseph Marciano of the Public Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Omer Wiczyk, Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau, and the overall supervision of Tarek Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division. District Attorney Clark thanked Trial Preparation Assistant Annarese Marcano of the Public Integrity Bureau for her valuable assistance in the case. District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Kevin Lavin of the Force Investigations Division for his assistance in the case.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.