Indicted as lookout in cop’s killing
A grand jury has indicted the accused lookout in the Queens cell phone store holdup that ended with an NYPD detective shot dead by a brother in blue.
The Queens district attorney’s office revealed Thursday that it filed “a notice of voted indictment” for Jagger Freeman, 25. The specific charges against him haven’t been unsealed yet.
Freeman acted as a spotter outside a Richmond Hill T-Mobile store Feb. 12 while Christopher Ransom, 27, used a fake gun to hold up employees, authorities said.
When police arrived, cops allege, Ransom pointed the replica pistol at the responding officers and jerked his arm to simulate firing a shot.
Seven officers blasted off 42 rounds. One of those bullets struck the 42-year-old detective, Brian Simonsen, in the chest, while another hit his partner, Sgt. Matthew Gorman, in the leg.
Freeman’s lawyer declined to comment.
Police and prosecutors initially charged Ransom and Freeman with murder, under the legal rule that a participant in a violent felony is responsible for any deaths that happen in the commission of the crime. Both were also charged with robbery, and Freeman is accused of working with Ransom in a similar heist.
Their case went before a grand jury, which indicted Ransom earlier this week. Though the charges have not yet been unsealed, his lawyer said it was likely a murder charge.
Simonsen was laid to rest on Long Island on Wednesday.