Two Queens men sentenced for assaulting Rikers guards
/
Eagle file photo by David Brand.
By Jonathan Sperling
A pair of Queens men who assaulted a group of correction officers as they were being transported to Rikers Island from court appearances in Queens have been sentenced to prison.
Brandon Bledman, 24, of Queens Village and Nicholas Morris, 23, of Jamaica, were sentenced to eight and nine years in prison respectively after they both pleaded guilty to assaulting a peace officer inside the Queens Detention Center on Jan. 25, 2019.
The two men were placed inside of a holding cell at the Queens Detention Center Annex following a court appearance prior to the assault. As they waited for transportation back to Rikers Island, Bledman and Morris stepped out of the holding space without permission and were ordered back inside by correction officers.
Without provocation, prosecutors say, the two men began assaulting three correction officers. By the time the altercation was over, the three officers had to be sent to the hospital for treatment; one officer required extensive treatment and surgery.
Both Bledman and Morris were detained on charges related to a plot to shoot at rival gang members at the time of the assault. Bledman pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree conspiracy and was sentenced to prison for 4 years with 5 years’ post release supervision, to run concurrent with the sentence for assaulting the correction officers. Morris pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree conspiracy and sentenced to 10 years in prison with 5 years’ post release supervision, also to run concurrent to the assault conviction sentence.
“The defendants in this case attacked and seriously injured 3 New York City Correction Officers, who were carrying out their duties when the two men assaulted them. This kind of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan said in a statement.
