NEW YORK — A New York City man who was released without bail despite being charged with attempted murder dragged a police officer with a car Friday before going on an hours-long crime spree, authorities said.
Takim Newson was driving a vehicle in Brooklyn when he was stopped by police officers for being doubled parked and having heavily tinted windows, the New York Police Department told Fox News. The NYPD said Newson was slurring his speech and acknowledged smoking marijuana.
At one point an officer informed him that he wasn’t under arrest but asked that he step out of the vehicle, according to police video footage of the incident. Clips posted on social media by NYPD showed the suspect going in reverse and dragging an officer a short distance before speeding away.
Early this morning, officers from the @NYPD71Pct conducted a car stop. During their investigation, officers determined the driver was not fit to drive and asked him to step out of the vehicle. That's when he put the car in reverse, running over the lieutenant. pic.twitter.com/8pWRkcSsI5
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 23, 2021
As a result, the officer sustained bumps and bruises on his knees and had some minor back pain, police said. He was treated at a hospital and released, according to Fox.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea later tweeted about the criminal act.
“NYC: @NYPDDetectives are AGAIN searching for Takim Newson after he used a car to assault a police officer early this morning,” the post read.
NYC: @NYPDDetectives are AGAIN searching for Takim Newson after he used a car to assault a police officer early this morning.
☎️ 800-577-TIPS w/ info https://t.co/oGhrznzMaj pic.twitter.com/CMGlmv1gyR
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) April 23, 2021
After the traffic stop went awry, Newson, 32, reportedly burglarized a home in Queens by breaking the door lock, the NYPD said. He is accused of threatening a 66-year-old woman by pretending he had a gun. He left without taking anything, authorities said.
After the burglary, Newson then stole a Jaguar sedan, police said. He was later arrested in Suffolk County, Long Island, when a license plate reader was triggered by the stolen vehicle, the New York Post reported.
Consequently, he is now booked on the charges of assault on a police officer and burglary, police said.
The Post described Newson as a reputed member of the Edgemere Crew gang.
In February, Newson reportedly shot someone in the groin during an attempted Valentine’s Day robbery at a Queens bar. He fled the city and was tracked down to his mother’s home in Rocky Mount, N.C., where he was arrested this month, according to police.
Prosecutors had asked that he be locked up pending trial, but a judge released him without setting bail despite his lawyer asking for $50,000 bail, authorities said.