New Jersey cop who shot 2 people during high-speed chase sentenced to prison

A Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced former Newark police officer Jovanny Crespo to consecutive prison terms totaling 27 years in prison for shooting two men during a wild car chase in the city's Central District. city ​​in January 2019, which left one person dead and the other injured.

Citing the need to deter police officers from what he called a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality, Judge Michael L. Ravin sentenced Crespo to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting the driver during of the car chase, Gregory Griffin and another seven years for causing injury. passenger Andrew J. Dixon, both of Newark. The judge further sentenced Crespo to two six-year prison terms for two counts of official misconduct, which will run concurrently.

Crespo slumped in his chair and family members burst into tears as the judge informed the defendant that he would not be eligible for parole for 22 years and 11 months.

Crespo's attorney, Isaac Wright Jr., had asked for leniency, telling the judge that Crespo, a patrolman, had less than two years of experience and was poorly trained. Wright tried to convince the judge that Crespo's superiors should have removed him from the prosecution on the night of January 28, 2019.

“He was a rookie,” Wright told the judge, adding that his partner driving the patrol car also had less than two years of experience. “Two recruits in car in high speed chase with individual armed with gun. Why would politics allow two children to go out and engage in a high-speed chase? » asked Wright.

The prosecutor, Alexander Albu, countered that Crespo spent more than six months training at the police academy, where he learned how to properly use deadly force. Ravin accepted.

“The court is not convinced that he was young and inexperienced,” Ravin said. “He received extensive training.” The sentence was only slightly less than the 33 years Albu requested. Ravin called the five-minute chase through Newark that left Griffin dead and Dixon injured a “heinous abuse of police power.”

Earlier, Crespo had broken down in tears as his mother, Aida, and sister, Evalise, begged the judge for leniency.

“Please have mercy,” his mother told the judge. “If not for me, then for the kids out there,” she said, pointing to Crespo’s young children in the courtroom.

Crespo, 31, then stood and briefly apologized to the victims' families who were seated across the courtroom. “I want to apologize for the event that happened,” he said. “I took a chance on getting a job…the jury has spoken…I want to apologize to everyone.”

After weighing aggravating and mitigating factors, the judge said there was an “exorbitant need” to deter other officers from using unjustifiable deadly force.

Crespo was riding shotgun with his partner, Eric Ortiz, on the night of January 28, 2019, when a call came in searching for a Chrysler 300 with two men armed with a gun who, moments earlier, had fled a traffic stop. another Newark police officer.

Video of the ensuing five-minute chase was recorded on police dashboard and body cameras. During the chase, Crespo jumped out of his patrol car in three places and opened fire, even though his partner is heard repeatedly on the video telling him to calm down.

At the final stop, on Irving Turner Boulevard, Crespo shot and killed the driver, Gregory C. Griffin, 46, and injured the passenger, Andrew J. Dixon, 35. Griffin died at the scene; Dixon was shot in the face and recovered, but later died in a car accident before Crespo went to trial.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office investigation focused on pursuit guidelines and the use of deadly force. The attorney general's guidelines prohibit shooting at a moving vehicle except as a last resort to prevent death or serious injury to the officer or another person. An Essex County grand jury later indicted Crespo on charges of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of weapons and official misconduct.

Crespo's trial in Essex County began in May 2023 and lasted 10 weeks.

At trial, Albu, the prosecutor, argued that even if there was a gun, the Chrysler was fleeing police and posed no “imminent danger” to Crespo or anyone else. Crespo took the witness stand and testified that he saw a gun pointed at him every time he opened fire and that he was acting in self-defense. Albu also argued that it was unlikely Crespo saw a gun pointed at him because it was dark and the Chrysler 300's windows were tinted. Police recovered a handgun from the floor of the car.

After deliberating for six days, the jury found Crespo guilty on all six counts.

Crespo has been held in the Middlesex County Jail since his sentencing in July 2023. But his sentencing was delayed to allow him to begin the appeal process with a new lawyer, Isaac Wright Jr.

In December, Crespo asked Judge Ravin to overturn his conviction, arguing that the Essex County Prosecutor's Office did not have jurisdiction to investigate the case. Crespo based this argument on a change in state law that took effect on January 30, 2019 – just two days after the incident – ​​which required the state attorney general's office to investigate all fatal police shootings and civilian deaths in custody.

Additionally, the new law requires that whenever a police officer is charged with causing the death of a person, the case be subject to a change of venue and moved out of the county where the incident occurred. Crespo argued that the new law should be applied to his case retroactively.

Judge Ravin rejected that argument in a ruling he issued in February. The judge said the statute made clear the law would take effect on Jan. 30 — not a day before. Crespo is appealing that decision as well as other issues related to the lawsuit, his attorney said.

Although friends and family of Griffin and Dixon attended the sentencing, none of them chose to address the court. But in the hallway, Griffin's son, Ahmad, 23, said he was satisfied. “Justice has been served,” he said.

At a subsequent news conference, Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said the jury's verdict rejected Crespo's argument that he was simply doing his job when she shot the two men as they fled the police. Stephens said the case should also restore public confidence that police officers will be brought to justice when they use unjustifiable force.

“There will be consequences,” Stephens said.

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Richard Cowen can be contacted at [email protected].