CNN
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The suspect in the shooting death of off-duty New York Police Department officer Adeed Fayaz has been charged with murder, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Randy Jones, 38, was arraigned Wednesday and did not enter a plea. He was remanded to police custody, according to the DA’s office.
Jones faces two counts of second-degree murder – one with a stipulation for being committed during a robbery, one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted robbery and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, the criminal complaint said.
The Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit that represents poor New Yorkers in legal matters, will provide Jones’ lawyers.
“While we recognize that this is a painful and difficult time for New York City Police Department Officer Adeed Fayaz’s family, friends and community, Randy Jones is entitled to the presumption of innocence, a fundamental principle required by the United States Constitution,” a Legal Aid Society statement said. “We encourage the public to withhold judgment and to allow this case to proceed through the criminal legal system.”
Jones’ counsel will have “more to say” on the case once they have received initial information from the DA’s office, the statement added.
Police officials have said Fayaz, who was 26, and his brother-in-law were trying Saturday to buy an SUV listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $24,000.
Witness statements and video allegedly show Jones pointed a handgun at Fayaz while stating, “where’s the money,” an NYPD detective said in the complaint.
Jones then fired the handgun, shooting Fayaz in the head, the court document says.
The brother-in-law took a gun from Fayaz’s hip and fired at least six times, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. The assailant drove from the scene, Essig said. Dashboard camera video from the brother-in-law’s vehicle helped detectives identify the car the assailant fled in, he added.
Fayaz, who was married and had two young children, died Tuesday.
“Police Officer Adeed Fayaz was a father, a husband, a son, and a protector of our great city,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell tweeted. “Officer Fayaz was shot Saturday night and he tragically succumbed to his injuries today. Our department deeply mourns his passing, and his family and loved ones are in our prayers.”
Jones was arrested Monday at a motel in Nanuet, a hamlet north of New York, Essig said. A woman who was in the motel room was taken into custody and questioned, but she is not being charged at this time, Essig said.
Authorities handcuffed Jones using Fayez’s cuffs, Essig said. “We wanted him to know who, what he did to that officer. … And I think it sends a powerful message,” he said.
Authorities are investigating whether the man is connected to other reported Facebook Marketplace robberies, including one that happened in early January “right down the block,” according to Essig.
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