Detectives escorted Denzel Brown out of the 109th Precinct and took him to Queens Criminal Court for his arraignment on Tuesday. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
April 30, 2025 By Bill Parry
Two career criminals from Brooklyn are charged with attempted murder for shooting an off-duty cop during an attempted carjacking in Long Island City on Sunday morning.
Denzel Brown, 29, and Marvin Dankwah, 26, both from the Beach Haven Apartments in Bensonhurst, were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday on a criminal complaint that also charged them with attempted robbery, weapon possession, and other related crimes for attempting to steal a green BMW from the police officer at gunpoint and shooting at the vehicle as the victim tried to drive away.
Police Officer Jason Mathew was behind the wheel of his lime green BMW when Brown allegedly shot him through the windshield. Photo by Dean Moses
The shooting, which took place in front of Silvercup Studios, injured the officer in his leg and required his hospitalization.
“As alleged, an off-duty New York City Police officer was nearly murdered by these two defendants when they attempted to carjack him and fired into his vehicle,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
According to the charges, at around 6:30 a.m. on April 27, Brown and Dankwah drove a gray Nissan Altima with a West Virginia license plate and pulled over next to Officer Jason Mathew’s green BMW that was parked between two cars at 54-25 21st St. in Long Island City. Brown allegedly got out of the Nissan, approached the BMW with a gun in his waistband, pulled on the car door handle, and stated, “Get out of the car.”
Marvin Dankwah allegedly drove the Nissan that boxed in a 25-year-old off-duty cop in front of Silvercup Studios during an attempted carjacking. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
When Mathew, 25, and his passenger attempted to drive away, Brown pulled the firearm from his waistband and fired one time at the windshield, striking Mathew in the upper leg. In a desperate attempt to escape before a second shot was fired, Mathew put his car in reverse and drive going back and forth in the parking spot ramming the two parked cars that had him boxed in until it created enough space for him to drive onto the sidewalk in front of Silvercup Studios and speed away from the crime scene. He drove more than a mile north to 31st Road and 21st Street in Astoria, where he pulled over in front of the Astoria Baptist Church.
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria arrived at the scene and found Mathew, who is assigned to the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows and has no disciplinary history since joining the NYPD in April 2022. EMS responded to the location and rushed Mathew to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition and treated for his gunshot wound.
Back at the crime scene, an officer out of the 108th Precinct in Long Island City found one .380-caliber shell casing on the ground at the location, and one .380-caliber bullet was later found in the victim’s front jeans pocket.
A manhunt for Brown and Dankwah ensued and at around 7:40 a.m., patrol officers in a marked vehicle spotted the perpetrators speeding eastbound on the Grand Central Parkway at the Astoria Boulevard exit in a damaged gray Nissan and began a pursuit.
They allegedly sped along the Grand Central causing other drivers to swerve out of their way as they drove into Downtown Flushing where they ran through multiple steady red lights and stop signs before colliding with a marked patrol car in front of 33-11 Leavitt St.
Brown and Dankwah ditched the vehicle and made a run for it but they were taken into custody by the NYPD after a foot pursuit and later booked at the 109th Precinct in Flushing.
Dankwah drove all the way to Flushing, where he plowed into a patrol car, and he and Brown made a run for it until they were taken into custody by heavily armed cops after a foot pursuit. Photo by Dean Moses
During questioning, Dankwah told a detective from the 108th Precinct, “That’s my car. I’m the only person who was driving that car after 5 a.m.,” he said before identifying his co-defendant Brown as his neighbor in his Bensonhurst apartment building. “I was with the guy downstairs during that time.”
Brown told the detective, “I was with Marvin Dankwah for the past twelve hours in his car,” according to the criminal complaint.
“The defendants led cops on a chase through the borough, where they sped through multiple red lights and crashed into a marked police car,” Katz said. “I thank the NYPD for quickly apprehending these defendants and we wish the young officer the very best as he recovers from his injuries.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Sharifa Nasser-Cuellar remanded Brown and Dankwah into custody without bail. If convicted of the top count, they face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.