Roosevelt man charged in cop shooting
A cone marks the gun at the scene where cops say a police officer was shot in Hempstead. (Dec. 2, 2011) Credit: Howard Schnapp
A Roosevelt man accused of shooting a Hempstead Village police officer was arraigned Saturday on an attempted murder charge and ordered held without bail.
The afternoon hearing was held under heavy guard in an 11th-floor hospital room at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.
Police say Michael Benitez, 22, opened fire on a uniformed officer early Friday, hitting him in the back of his bulletproof vest and in the left arm. The officer, who was treated and released, shot Benitez three times.
Besides attempted murder, Benitez was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Assistant District Attorney Justin Kramer said Benitez has convictions from January 2007 for robbery and attempted assault.
He served a 4-year prison sentence and was on 5 years' supervised release when he was arrested Friday, Kramer said.
Nassau County District Court Judge Sondra Pardes asked Benitez if he had ever held a job.
"No," he said.
Benitez, who entered a not-guilty plea, lives in Roosevelt with his mother, said Patrick Kauffman, his Legal Aid attorney.
Being treated for wounds to his arm, leg and groin, Benitez was alert during the hearing. He slumped in his bed and a bruise was visible on his face.
Plainclothes officers stopped Benitez and a companion shortly after 3 a.m. Friday as they walked near Washington Street and Fulton Avenue in Hempstead Village to ask them about two street robberies nearby that had been reported an hour earlier.
Benitez ran, according to Nassau County Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, and then shot at the uniformed officer, who had arrived to assist the plainclothes officers.
Police have not released the officer's identity, describing him only as 25 years old and a two-year member of the force.
Police Chief Joseph Wing commended the officer's conduct Friday, saying he "certainly acted bravely."
Benitez's companion, Derrick Hernandez, 20, of Roosevelt, was also arrested Friday, but neither man has been linked to the holdups, which remain under investigation, police said.
Kramer said Hernandez, who was charged with obstruction, refused officers' orders to step away from Benitez as he was being arrested.
"You shot my friend!" Hernandez screamed at the officers, according to Kramer.
Hernandez works in a scrap-metal business with his grandfather, his attorney said.
Pardes set bail for Hernandez at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
