Teen who dragged NYPD officer from LI arrested again, cops say

A teen paroled after serving prison time for a vehicular assault that left an NYPD officer from Long Island with severe brain damage has been rearrested, according to the NYPD.

Sunday morning, Justin Murrell, 19, was arrested and accused of driving a stolen vehicle above the legal speed limit, running a red light and speeding away from cops who tried to stop him, according to court records.

Murrell was 16 years old when he was convicted of assault — and acquitted of attempted murder — for driving away from a traffic stop in June 2017 while the cop, NYPD Officer Dalsh Veve of North Baldwin, was holding onto the side of the stolen vehicle. Veve — later promoted to detective — was left with severe brain damage.

The latest episode happened Sunday at about 1:20 a.m. when police officers saw a vehicle speeding at 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, the records say. The stolen car was a 2021 Honda with a temporary Alabama license plate, an NYPD spokesman. On Sunday the spokesman said Murrell had run the red light before police tried to stop him.

That vehicle, reported stolen May 15 from the Resorts World Casino in Queens, belonged to Honda of Valley Stream, he said. It's worth $29,000, the records.

The driver, a man later identified by police as Murrell, sped away from the officers who tried to stop the vehicle, the spokesman said. The court records say Murrell also crashed into a Mitsubishi Gallant and a Chevy Malibu, and injured at least one passenger in the Mitsubishi.

The police officers chased him on foot, and he and three other occupants of the vehicle — a 15-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman and another adult woman — were detained. The arrests of all but Murrell were later voided, the spokesman said.

Murrell, a New Jersey native, was charged with grand larceny of an automobile, reckless endangerment, possession of stolen property and disobeying a traffic light, among other crimes. He was ordered jailed on $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond at his arraignment in Kings County Criminal Court, according to Oren Yaniv, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez said Monday afternoon.

According to city Correction Department records, the state has issued a warrant for Murrell for violation of parole.

Murrell had been paroled in March 2020, state parole records show. His sentence was 16 months to 4 years.

In a news release Sunday afternoon, Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association labor union, said: "Is anyone surprised? This perp dragged a hero New York City police officer behind a stolen car, paralyzing him. He had an extensive criminal record before that. And yet we had a judge and elected officials who thought he should be given yet another chance and put right back on the street. "

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.