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Christopher Ransom
By Michael V. Cusenza
The recidivist thief being held on Rikers Island pending trial for an alleged string of robberies that culminated in the February 2019 murder of a City cop in Richmond Hill had his petition for early release denied by a Queens Supreme Court judge, District Attorney Melinda Katz recently announced.
Christopher Ransom, 28, was indicted in March 2019 for the line-of-duty death of 102nd Precinct Det. Brian Simonsen, 42, and the wounding of Sgt. Matthew Gorman, who were responding to a call of a robbery in a cell phone store on Atlantic Avenue when they were mistakenly hit by other officers also responding to the chaotic scene allegedly initiated by Ransom.
Katz noted that as highly contagious COVID-19 continues to ravage the five boroughs, her Office is reviewing myriad requests from defense attorneys to have their clients sprung from City lockup. According to Katz, earlier this month she was alerted to 20 defendants whose immediate release the defense sought in a mass writ. Six applications were for defendants with parole violations; Katz did not oppose to the release of four of those defendants. Some defendant’s cases were resolved with Katz’s consent or withdrawn. Last Wednesday, the DA’s Office opposed the release of the remaining eight defendants—including Ransom—at a hearing that was presided over by Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder. After a lengthy court proceeding this morning, the Court dismissed the defense petition.
Additionally, on Tuesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Correction Commissioner Cynthia Brann calling on the administration to protect the health and safety of correctional facility staff and incarcerated individuals who are at risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In his missive, Stringer raised concerns that crowded City jails are ill-equipped to protect people during such an outbreak and that DOC has not provided enough information about how they are managing the spread of the virus.
Stringer said he urged the City to take a series of steps to prioritize the health and safety of people in custody and staff, including releasing more incarcerated individuals, reducing jail admissions, providing daily updates on the number of people tested and hospitalized, improving safety of housing areas and access to medical care, and offering face masks and soap at no cost.
“The rise in deaths and confirmed cases of COVID-19 within New York City correctional facilities is alarming and makes clear that Rikers Island must be a central focus in the battle against this public health emergency,”the comptroller added. “The City’s response thus far falls far short and fails to match the scale of this mounting crisis. We have to act immediately and do more to protect correctional staff and people in custody, because New York City’s ability to stop the spread of COVID-19—and address the mounting racial and ethnic disparities in infection rates—is dependent on the work we do in our City jails.”
