File Photo
Blackwell shot and kill ed Moore in May 2015.
By Forum Staff
The killer who gunned down two NYPD officers while they were on patrol in 2015, will face life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted in the murder of Police Officer Brian Moore and the attempted murder of Police Officer Erik Jansen.
A Queens jury comprised of seven women and five men handed down their verdict before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasik after deliberating for two days. The jury found Demetrius Blackwell, 37, of 212th Place, Queens Village, guilty of first-degree murder of Officer Moore, first-degree attempted murder of Officer Jansen and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
District Attorney Brown said, “The evidence of the defendant’s guilt presented at trial was truly overwhelming. The jury fairly weighed all the evidence offered by both sides before concluding– unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt – that the defendant deliberately fired a weapon at the two police officers without provocation or warning, killing one of them. It is likely that he will never again taste another day of freedom.”
“The defendant’s actions were a direct attack on our society and the law and soberly reminds us of the unseen dangers that our police officers face each day – and the ultimate sacrifice they may be called upon to make – as they carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve our communities,” DA Brown continued. “Our sympathies go out to Officer Brian Moore’s family for the loss of their loved one and the prolonged pain that they and Officer Erik Jansen and his family have had to endure as this case made its way through the criminal justice system. Although the verdict cannot bring back Brian I hope that today’s conviction brings a sense of closure and comfort to his family, friends and colleagues, knowing that his killer finally has been held accountable for his heinous and cowardly act.”
According to trial testimony, Police Officer Brian Moore, 25, and his partner, Officer Erik Jansen, then 30, who were assigned to the New York City Police Department’s 105 Precinct Anti-Crime Unit, observed Blackwell, then 35, adjusting something on his waistband on 104th Road at approximately 6:15 p.m. on May 2, 2015. When the two plainclothes officers rode alongside the defendant in their police vehicle to question him, Officer Moore said, “Police, you got something?” Blackwell responded, “Yeah, I got something.” He then removed an unlicensed five-shot silver revolver from his waistband and fired three shots at the two officers, striking Officer Moore twice in the head. The third bullet, which was intended for Officer Jansen, struck a nearby house.
Sometime between the shooting and his arrest that day, Blackwell stopped at a nearby house, got rid of his weapon and stole a tee shirt and a pair of sneakers in an attempt to alter his appearance. When Blackwell was picked up hours later, he possessed small amounts of cocaine and marijuana. The weapon used in the shooting was found two days later and DNA evidence discovered on it linked Blackwell to the weapon, as well as to the two unfired bullets found in the chamber.
Officer Moore, who died two days after the shooting, was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade and Officer Jansen is now with the Suffolk County Police Department.
“From the outset, I promised the families of both officers that the investigation and prosecution of this case would be a top priority of my office. I promised that we would see this case through to its conclusion, and that in so doing we would follow the law and present all of the evidence – and that is what we have done,” said DA Brown.
