Murder of Russel Timoshenko
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Russel Timoshenko (August 18, 1983 – July 14, 2007) was a 23-year-old New York Police Department (NYPD) police officer who was shot on July 9, 2007, and died five days later, after pulling over a stolen BMW automobile in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...
, neighborhood. After a four-day manhunt that stretched across three states, all three suspects Dexter Bostic, Robert Ellis and Lee Woods were eventually apprehended and convicted—two of murder, and the third for weapons possession. At his widely attended funeral, Timoshenko was
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...
promoted to the
rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...
of
Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
. The case garnered national media attention because the weapons used were all illegally obtained
handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
s. This sparked widespread debate over
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
laws in New York City, and over the process by which
firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
are traced by police departments.


Murder

Timoshenko and his partner, Officer Herman Yan, had been driving in a marked 71st precinct police car on patrol in Crown Heights, with Timoshenko riding as the passenger, when they spotted a 2003 black BMW sport utility vehicle headed westbound on Lefferts Avenue at 2:30 am. The officers scanned the BMW's license plate on a computer in their police car. When the check came back, it indicated that the plate was assigned to a 2007
Mitsubishi Outlander The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. It was originally known as the when it was introduced in Japan in 2001. The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to transpo ...
, not the BMW. Timoshenko and Yan signaled for the vehicle to pull over. The driver complied, turning north onto Rogers Avenue, where both officers got out of their car and approached the stopped vehicle. Before the officers arrived at the front of the car, Dexter Bostic, 34, opened fire from the passenger's seat with a
.45 caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods) A case of some merchandise Merchandising is any practic ...
handgun, striking Timoshenko once in the face and once in the throat. Yan had been approaching on the driver's side, while Timoshenko was coming up from the passenger's side. From the back seat of the BMW, Robert Ellis, 34, shot Yan with a 9mm handgun, striking him in the arm and chest; Yan was saved by his
ballistic vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. ...
and was able to return fire. A third suspect, 29-year-old Lee Woods, was driving the BMW at the time of the shooting. After firing at least seven rounds at the officers, the three suspects fled the scene. Police later found the abandoned car on Kingston Avenue, about four blocks from where the shooting occurred. Timoshenko was rushed to
Kings County Hospital Center Kings County Hospital Center is a municipal hospital located in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is owned and operated by NYC Health + Hospitals, a municipal agency that runs New York City's public hospitals. It has ...
once medical personnel arrived at the scene. Each of the two bullets that struck Timoshenko cut across his
spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...
, just beneath his brain, which left him unable to breathe on his own or to move his muscles. According to doctors, he had no oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes after he was shot because of his initial paralysis. The loss of oxygen left him in a coma since the shooting, so he was placed on
life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
machines that allowed him to breathe. Tests conducted on July 14 determined that he had no brain activity (matching the definition of
legal death Legal death is the recognition under the law of a particular jurisdiction that a person is no longer alive. In most cases, a doctor's declaration of death (variously called) or the identification of a corpse is a legal requirement for such recognit ...
in the state of New York); as a result, the doctors pronounced him dead at 4:14 p.m. and turned off the artificial respirator. He was 23 years old at the time of his death.


Motive

Media reports stated that the men committed the crime in an effort to avoid returning to prison, as all three had violent criminal records. Bostic previously served nine years in state prison for assault, robbery, and sodomy in 1990. He was sent to prison again in 2001 to serve three years for armed robbery (in which an accomplice fired shots), resulting in his second
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
. In 1992, at the age of 19, Ellis was convicted of first-degree rape and sodomy. Woods was sent to prison in 1997, also at age 19, for illegal weapons possession and assaulting a police officer during his arrest. If the police identified Bostic even before the shooting occurred, he would have faced a two-year prison sentence for violating the terms of his parole, since he was out past his curfew. After the shooting, police discovered the BMW had been stolen from the Five Towns Mitsubishi car dealership in Inwood, Long Island, where Bostic worked as a salesman. A motor vehicle theft or gun possession conviction would have been Bostic's third felony, likely resulting in a lengthy prison sentence.


Aftermath


Manhunt

Police apprehended Lee Woods at the home of his girlfriend, Nicole Bostic (Dexter Bostic’s sister), in
Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...
,
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York, on July 10. He identified Bostic and Ellis as his accomplices, and told police that while he knew his friends had guns, he was unaware they were going to open fire on the officers. City detectives were tipped to the whereabouts of Bostic and Ellis on the afternoon of July 11, after being contacted by a man who, unaware of the suspects'
fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
status, assisted the suspects in their escape by driving them across
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, from Far Rockaway to
Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...
, before riding a
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
across Long Island Sound to
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
. They then drove west, stopping at a supermarket in
Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...
, where they purchased food and water, before continuing on to
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, according to
New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...
Raymond Kelly Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly â ...
. Remnants of the same food the men purchased were found in a Pennsylvania forest, where investigators had eventually tracked the suspects. Hundreds of NYPD officers,
U.S. marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
, and Pennsylvania State Troopers were involved in the manhunt, using helicopters and four police dogs to assist with the search. By July 11, 2007, the
bounty Bounty or bounties commonly refers to: * Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing Bounty or bounties may also refer to: Geography * Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
for information leading to the whereabouts of Bostic and Ellis reached $64,000, with the
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Police unions in the United States include a large number and patchwork variety of organizations. Of those unions which conduct labor negotiations on behalf of its police members, 80% are independent and have no affiliation to any larger organized ...
proposing an additional $25,000. The driver initially dropped off Bostic and Ellis about 14 miles from where Bostic was finally arrested in Pocono Township, Pennsylvania. On July 11, a passing motorist spotted the fugitives by
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
and called police. The men fled when authorities arrived at the scene shortly after, but Bostic was tackled by a state trooper shortly after 6 p.m., while Ellis managed to escape. At 8 a.m. the next morning, Ellis was cornered near I-80 by two police dogs. Both men were extradited to New York from Pennsylvania on July 12. Police brought Timoshenko's handcuffs and used them to apprehend Ellis during his arrest. Police did not release the name of the driver who assisted the suspects.


Mourning

Over 30,000 people attended Timoshenko's funeral in
Flatlands, Brooklyn Flatlands is a neighborhood in the southeast part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The current neighborhood borders are roughly defined by the Bay Ridge Branch to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Flatb ...
, where Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
delivered the eulogy, praising the fallen officer, stating, "By stopping that car, he and Officer Yan helped us capture three career criminals whose appetite for evil knew no bounds—saving who knows how many future victims, people who will never know how lucky they are." Detective Timoshenko’s name is engraved on Panel 16-West, Line 26 of the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum. It honors 23,229 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout American hist ...
in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
.


Awards and recognition

Timoshenko had served with the NYPD for 18 months. In a ceremony held on July 27, 2007, Timoshenko was posthumously promoted to the rank of Detective First Grade and his partner, Herman Yan, was promoted to Detective. Mayor Bloomberg called the promotion, "A small measure of our appreciation for the supreme sacrifice that Russel made, and to honor his life." On June 16, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Kelly bestowed the
New York City Police Department Medal of Honor The New York City Police Department Medal of Honor is the highest law enforcement medal of the New York City Police Department. The Medal of Honor is awarded for individual acts of extraordinary bravery performed in the line of duty at extreme r ...
on Timoshenko and Yan. The award is the highest law enforcement medal given by the NYPD, which was awarded posthumously to Timoshenko and accepted by his parents in a ceremony held at the NYPD headquarters in New York. New York Governor
David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...
named the two officers Police Officers of the Year in New York State on July 24, 2009. The award, first given in 1983, recognizes a single police officer or team for "an exceptional act of valor symbolizing the service of police in New York State." On October 6, 2009, Timoshenko's parents accepted the James S. Brady Law Enforcement Award (named after the former assistant to President Ronald Reagan), given to their son posthumously in recognition of his commitment to public safety through his outstanding law enforcement career. The award was presented by NYPD Commissioner Kelly. In November 2009, a local street, Durant Avenue, was renamed to Detective Russel Timoshenko Way in the detective's honor. Incidentally, following the controversial decision to rename a street to Sean Bell Way for police shooting victim Sean Bell, some community members had recommended doing the same for Timoshenko. However, the latter case had attracted much less media attention.


Trial

All three suspects were arraigned and charged with aggravated
first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
for the killing of Timoshenko, and other charges related to the wounding of Yan, including attempted murder and aggravated assault on a police officer. They faced life in prison if convicted of the first degree murder charges. The city's police union and other parties asked federal prosecutors to take over the case so that the three suspects could face the death penalty, but the case was tried by the Brooklyn
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
on November 10, 2008, after federal officials refused to prosecute the case. Although the three defendants were being prosecuted simultaneously, there was a rare separate jury assigned to each of them. On December 17, 2008, Robert Ellis was found not guilty on the charges of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, but was found guilty on three charges of gun possession. On January 14, 2009, a judge sentenced Ellis to 15 years in prison on the gun possession charges. On December 19, 2008, Dexter Bostic was found guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and three charges of gun possession; he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
. Lee Woods was tried twice, after his first trial ended in a
mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
due to a juror in her 20s falling ill. Wood's attorney, Samuel J. Karlin, told the judge his client wanted to continue with the ill juror, instead of using an alternate. At his second trial on March 16, 2009, Lee Woods was found guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and 3 charges of gun possession. He was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors believed Nicole Bostic, 26 at the time, aided Lee Woods in hiding the guns found in the BMW that Timoshenko and Yan pulled over, dumping them in a nearby garage before police retrieved them; N. Bostic, however, only admitted to giving Woods a ride. She pled guilty to helping the three men escape, and originally faced seven years in prison for her role. She later accepted a
plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of hindering the prosecution in exchange for three years probation, thereby avoiding jail.


Gun legislation

Several press accounts reported that Timoshenko was shot by an unlicensed gun that came from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Previous reports indicated that the gun dealer had previously been indicted for his illegal gun sales, and that all the weapons found in the BMW were illegally obtained. The gun shop in question is now closed, and the dealer has been stripped of his license. Because the gun was used by a person with a criminal history, and because the NYPD was denied requests to look up the seller of the gun, legislators sought to make it easier for law enforcement to carry out their investigative duties.


Senate hearings

In September 2007, Senator
Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
questioned Michael J. Sullivan, nominated to be the director of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...
(ATF), at a
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
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looking into why the
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
's request for information on who had sold the gun (used to kill Timoshenko) was denied. The NYPD asked the ATF for data about which dealers in Virginia supplied the most crime guns—like the one used to kill Officer Timoshenko—so they could identify the traffickers. The ATF refused that request for data, citing the
Tiahrt Amendment The Tiahrt Amendment ( ) is a provision of the U.S. Department of Justice 2003 appropriations bill that prohibits the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from releasing information from its fi ...
, which restricts cities' access to and use of ATF trace data). The New York Daily News ran a headline editorial in support for repealing the amendment, entitled "Congress Owes This Hero." At the Senate hearing in
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, Schumer stated, "If this is true, it is an outrage. If it is true, it is a horrible example of gun laws gone wrong." Sullivan, then acting director of the ATF, replied to the criticism, stating, "I'm not sure why the request was turned down", and pledged to look into the matter and provide further clarification in writing.


New gun laws for New York City

The complications regarding the illegal firearms used in Timoshenko's murder inspired new laws passed in New York City, which authorized new penalties, touted as "part of the toughest illegal gun possession law in the country." A public awareness
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
, named "GUNS=PRISON", featured posters calling attention to the 3 ½ year prison sentence given to anyone caught carrying an illegal loaded handgun in New York. At a press conference, Mayor Bloomberg stated, "Police Officer Russell Timoshenko was just the latest
victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...
killed by a gunman firing at close range. If the prospect of three and a half years in jail deters just one would-be killer from carrying a gun and taking the life of another police officer in another deadly confrontation, then the law and the efforts to publicize it are well worth it." NFL player
Plaxico Burress Plaxico Antonio Burress (born August 12, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver who played 12 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at Michigan State, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers eighth ove ...
was charged with this new law due to an incident that occurred inside of a New York City nightclub. On August 20, 2009, Burress plead guilty to a gun possession charge and agreed to a two-year prison sentence.


See also

* Newhall massacre (or Newhall Incident) (April 6, 1970): a similar incident of a deadly traffic stop wherein four police officers were killed by two armed felons.


Notes


References


External links


Photos of the Detective Russel Timoshenko Soccer Field
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timoshenko, Russel 2007 murders in the United States 2007 in New York City American police officers killed in the line of duty Crimes in Brooklyn Deaths by firearm in Brooklyn Deaths by person in New York City Male murder victims New York City Police Department officers