A Rockaway Beach man faces attempted first-degree murder charges for allegedly firing a ghost gun at police officers in Edgemere late last month.
Archive photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A Rockaway Beach man faces life in prison after a Queens grand jury indicted him on attempted first-degree murder charges for shooting at NYPD officers after a night of drinking in Edgemere.
Joel Kelly, 60, of Beach 92nd St., was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court on 10 counts for shooting two officers from the 101st Precinct who responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired at the Beach 41st Houses in Far Rockaway.
After Kelly was arrested, a 9mm Ghost Gun pistol was recovered from the crime scene.
According to the indictment, on July 27, at approximately 12:07 a.m., Kelly visited his sister's apartment on Beach 40th Street in the Beach 41st Street Houses. Shortly thereafter, she told him to leave. At approximately 12:07 a.m., Kelly was seen outside his sister's apartment with what appeared to be a firearm. He turned around and fired one shot, continued walking, and turned around again to fire a second shot.
An NYPD sergeant and a 101st Precinct officer responded to the area after gunshots were reported at the complex. Kelly was spotted walking north on Beach 51st Street. Officers pursued Kelly, who turned around in front of 444 Beach 54th St., raised his arm with his pistol in his hand, and fired toward officers. They were not hit. Kelly fled and threw the ghost gun to the ground, causing the magazine to release from the weapon. He was then arrested by other 101st Precinct officers who arrived. The weapon was recovered at the scene. Two spent 9mm shell casings, one live bullet, and three bullet fragments were also recovered in the hallway outside Kelly's sister's apartment.
Kelly was taken to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, where he was in stable condition due to extreme intoxication, according to a police source familiar with the investigation. He was later arrested at the 101st Precinct. The two officers who first encountered Kelly were taken to the hospital for treatment of tinnitus, commonly known as ringing in the ears, caused by the shooting.
“My office will aggressively pursue assassinations of police officers who are sworn to serve and protect our city,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “After laying out the facts of this case, we obtained a grand jury indictment of attempted murder against this defendant for allegedly shooting two police officers who were simply doing their jobs while responding to a 911 call that shots had been fired.”
Queens Supreme Court Judge Toni Cimino remanded Kelly in custody without bail and ordered him to appear in court on September 30.
“My office will continue to make every effort to get illegal ghost guns and their users off our streets,” Katz said.
If convicted on the most important charge, Kelly faces a maximum sentence of up to 40 years to life in prison.
