By JOSEPH KELLARD
Ryan Jones, 18, of Jamaica, Queens, pulled out a silver .22-caliber semi-automatic weapon and pointed it at police officers after he fled from them in his car on July 22, according to Lt. Bruce Meyer, an LBPD spokesman.
Meyer said that at about 1:11 p.m., police officers Rocco Walsh and Kelly Graham were waved down by a motorist who told them that Jones had just sideswiped his vehicle and fled on West Beech Street. The officers unsuccessfully attempted to stop Jones, and then chased him until he stopped his car in the area of Grand Boulevard and West Broadway.
“Before he jumps out of his car, he reaches into his glove box and exited his vehicle,” Meyer said. “They chase him, and when the officer grabs him, out comes the loaded gun and he pointed it at them.”
According to Meyer, the officers scuffled with Jones and Walsh grabbed the gun, which was loaded with eight bullets. “Officer Walsh had the presence of mind to grab the slide of the gun and wrestled it away from him,” Meyer explained. “In the meantime, the other officer involved, Kelly Graham, she got a black eye and some contusions on her hand and had to go to the hospital because her blood pressure was so sky-high. It’s a thing that could have been so much worse ... So to have this type of situation and have a gun pointed at your face and resolve the incident without anyone getting seriously hurt is quite an accomplishment.”
Jones was arrested and charged with four felonies, criminal weapon possession, menacing a police officer, criminal possession of stolen property and reckless endangerment, as well as a misdemeanor, resisting arrest. He was held on $250,000 bail.
At his arraignment the following day, Jones pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. His court-appointed attorney, Mitchell Barnett of Garden City, said his client disputes parts of the officers’ story.
“I spoke with him, and he denies that he pointed the gun at the police officers,” Barnett said. “Right now we don’t agree with everything they’re saying happened.”
Barnett said Jones is due back in Nassau Criminal Court on Aug. 3. Barnett said he believes that at the time of the incident, Jones was visiting his girlfriend, who lives in Long Beach.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
