Sentenced to 30 years to life in jail for 2019 botched robbery
New York City Police Department Detective Brian Simonsen’s killer was sentenced to 30 years to life on Thursday, July 7, three years after a shootout took place during a robbery at a T-Mobile phone store in Richmond Hill that took his life.
According to court records, the incident occured on Feb. 12, 2019, when two men entered the store on 120th Street brandishing a pistol. Police officers arrived on the scene after the two men ordered the two employees inside the establishment to surrender cash and merchandise from the back room of the shop.
One of the suspects was still inside when they arrived and pointed his gun, which appeared to be real, at the officers who discharged their weapons in response. Simonsen, 42, was fatally shot in the chest, while a second officer, Sgt. Matthew Gorman was seriously injured with a bullet wound to his leg.
Three years after the incident, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder found the suspect Jagger Freeman, 28, of Jamaica, guilty for second degree murder, multiple counts of robbery, grand larceny, and assault.
“The jury found the defendant guilty of murder and he will now serve a lengthytime in prison as punishment for his criminal actions,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release on July 7. “We continue to express our condolences to Detective Simonsen’s family and fellow service members.”
The sentencing, which includes the conviction of a previous robbery Freeman participated in at a separate cell phone store, comes after the conviction of Freeman’s co-defendant Christopher Ransom, 30, in October 2021. He is currently serving 33 years in prison, to be followed by five years’ post release supervision.
