4 Men Charged After Witnesses Clash With Police Over Shooting On Upper West Side
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police say four men are under arrest following a wild scene last night on the Upper West Side.
A 27-year-old man was shot around 4:30 p.m. outside the Amsterdam Houses at 63rd Street and West End Avenue, and several fights broke out as officers arrived on the scene.
Police said the shooter - 28-year-old Raymond Johnson - escaped from a cruiser while in handcuffs. He was wrestled to the ground in the middle of traffic.
"When the guy jumped out the window, I was on the other side of the car so I didn't see him… But I just heard everybody screaming and yelling," witness Dutch Benendez told CBS2.
"All I heard was someone arguing and I saw somebody running that way. So I looked out my window and I'm like, wait a minute, what's going on," another witness added. "They took my friend's son, they took him and they already had him in handcuffs on the floor. They were rumbling with him."
"I just saw the police cars everywhere. Some of the kids from my school actually saw the body, like the injured body after," said Rachella Ferst. "Just a lot of chaos and cars everywhere, and parents were worried."
One officer was hurt in the takedown and could be seen limping with an injured leg.
Neighbors stood by in shock as the chaos unfolded on the usually peaceful block.
"A suspect here, a suspect there. Then some of the people arrested – a couple weren't suspects in the shooting, they looked like they were mad at the shooter, so they were going after him," said Benendez.
"I'm just overwhelmed with all of this, because his is supposed to be a quiet area," the other witness said.
"It was shocking. I thought that the Upper West Side was a relatively safe neighborhood," said Ferst.
Johnson, who has 24 prior arrests, was charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, escape and several other counts.
As for the other men arrested in the melee, investigators said 24-year-old Joshua Wiley fired a shot at the victim but missed, 30-year-old Jesse Miranda punched him and 29-year-old Levander Floyd tried to stop emergency responders from tending to his gunshot wounds.
The victim is expected to make a full recovery.
