Suspects in death of NYPD detective from LI plead not guilty to 23-count indictment
Posted: Updated:The two suspects charged in the death of an NYPD detective from Calverton pleaded not guilty in Queens court Monday to a slew of charges.
Fellow officers packed the courthouse as a grand jury indictment was unsealed against suspects Christopher Ransom and Jagger Freeman, charging them with murder, assault, robbery and other offenses. Prosecutors say Freeman acted as a lookout while Ransom robbed a Queens T-Mobile store Feb. 12 with a fake gun. When multiple officers responded and saw a gun, police say NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen was killed by friendly fire. Sgt. Mathew Gorman, of Seaford, was also shot but survived.
The new indictment charges the pair with four other robberies dating back to last October, in addition to murder and assault.
Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, calls the suspects career criminals who never should have been on the streets.
"They should have been incarcerated," he says. "It's sad to think that even if just one of them was where they belong, behind bars, then there's a good chance that this case, this incident, never would have happened."
Ransom participated in Monday's hearing via video conference from a hospital where he is recovering after being shot during the T-Mobile incident.
Freeman was present in court, but his attorney did not wish to speak afterward.
Another court date is set for May. If convicted, both men face up to 50 years to life in prison.
At Simonsen's funeral, friends remembered the detective as a loving husband and caring son whose happiness earned him the nickname "Smiles."
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