Newsday
NEW YORK (AP) _ A college student accused of slamming a rookie police officer over the head with a baseball bat during a robbery last month was indicted Tuesday for attempted murder of the officer.
A Queens grand jury charged Danny Fernandez in a 10-count indictment with the brutal attack of Officer Joseph Cho, who was in uniform on foot patrol in the Jackson Heights neighborhood when he was knocked to the sidewalk by a blow from behind.
Fernandez, 21, is accused of striking Cho several times in the head until he was unconscious and had stopped moving. He is accused of stealing the officer’s handcuffs and gun because he wanted to use them to commit robberies to pay off $16,000 in debt.
Fernandez, of Flushing, was chased by another rookie New York Police Department officer, Patrick Lynch, who captured him a few blocks from the ambush, prosecutors said.
Besides the attempted-murder charge, Fernandez is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property. He was in jail and will be arraigned on the indictment later.
Cho, 30, was hospitalized with a fractured skull and now is at home recovering.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said it was a “miracle” that the officer survived.
“This case underscores yet again the dangers faced by New York City police officers in the performance of their duties,” Brown said in a statement.
Fernandez’s defense attorney did not immediately return an after-hours telephone call seeking comment.
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