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Man Accused of Shooting Off-Duty NYPD Cop Is Arrested With VICTIM’S Own Handcuffs: Officer, 26, Injured When Facebook Marketplace Sale Turned Into Shootout
- Randy Jones, 38, was arrested after a weekend manhunt in New York.
- Jones lured his victim into a driveway under the false pretense of selling a car.
- His victim, a 26-year-old father of two, is in hospital in critical condition.
A New York City man accused of shooting an off-duty NYPD officer in the head has been arrested after he was found hiding in a hotel north of the city.
Photos showed 38-year-old suspect Randy Jones being handcuffed and led out of the hotel where he was found hiding with his girlfriend and their children. The hotel was located in Rockland County, northwest of Manhattan, on the border with New Jersey.
He is accused of shooting an unnamed 26-year-old officer in the head during a botched robbery last Saturday in East New York. The officer, a father of two children, remains on life support.
The handcuffs used to arrest Jones reportedly belonged to the officer he allegedly shot.
Jones was taken to the 75th Precinct around 7 p.m. Monday night. He has not yet been charged, but he has retained an attorney, according to The New York Post.
Randy Jones, 38, was arrested while staying at a hotel in Rockland County, northwest of Manhattan.
Handcuffs belonging to the 26-year-old NYPD victim were used to arrest Jones.
The suspect allegedly lured the victim into an ambush by pretending to sell a car through the Facebook marketplace.
The victim and her brother-in-law arrived with $24,000 in cash to purchase the car, a Honda Pilot, when the suspect allegedly pulled a gun on them.
He then allegedly opened fire, hitting the officer in the head.
The victim’s brother grabbed the officer’s gun and fired, but the robber managed to get away in a black BMW.
After a citywide manhunt, the car was located abandoned in Harlem, near where the suspect lived with his girlfriend, according to The Post.
Sources also said the BMW belonged to the suspect’s mother, who lived near where the shooting occurred in East New York.
It is believed that he may have been behind a similar robbery that took place near the scene of the shooting on January 13.
Jones shackled in the handcuffs of the NYPD officer he allegedly shot in the head
Officers at the scene of the shooting in East New York on Saturday that left an NYPD officer in critical condition
FBI officers at the scene of the shooting in East New York on Saturday night
Emergency teams at the scene of the shooting. The NYPD victim remains in critical condition.
Jones has a criminal record with at least 22 arrests for a variety of crimes, including some violent assaults.
He has previously been booked for stalking, grand theft and strangulation, according to The Post.
He was wanted on a 2019 traffic and vehicle-related warrant at the time of his arrest Monday.
Jones has reportedly refused to answer investigators’ questions.
“Our prayers, of course, are with the officer and his family as he continues to fight for his life,” religious adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, Gilford Monrose, said at a vigil on Sunday.
The NYPD was offering $10,000 for the suspect’s arrest as of Monday.
“We will catch the person responsible for this act,” Adams said after the shooting. ‘An officer running a simple errand and a dangerous person pulled out a firearm.