A gang member who shot and wounded two NYPD sergeants after robbing several women at a Lower East Side store was charged with attempted murder on Friday, police and law enforcement sources said.
Joshua Dorsett, 22, is also facing charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and robbery after he allegedly fired shots during a struggle with two officers on Eldridge Street near Delancey Street Thursday afternoon, police and officials said.
Police said Sergeant Carl Johnson, 43, of the 5th Precinct, was shot in the groin and the same bullet penetrated and grazed Sergeant Christopher Reape, 34, of the 7th Precinct, in the left leg.
Both officers were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Reap, an 11-year NYPD veteran, was released from the hospital around 9 p.m. Thursday to the cheers of a crowd of uniformed officers, but Johnson, a 16-year veteran, remained hospitalized Friday afternoon.
Dorsett, described by NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney as a “known gang member on probation,” is accused of robbing a mahjong parlor at 91 Canal Street at approximately 4:15 p.m. and stealing several women’s wallets.
At a news conference Thursday night, Kenney said the victims told police the robber fled down Delancey Street, and about seven minutes later two sergeants spotted a person matching the description of the women.
They tried to detain him, but the suspect, later identified as Dorsett, resisted, leading to the three resisting the vehicle, Kenney said.
That’s when Dorsett allegedly pulled a gun from his hip and fired one shot. The officers did not return fire, police said.
Police said Dorsett is a member of the local “Up the Hill” gang and has three prior arrests, including for unlawful possession of controlled substances.
He was on probation for a 2022 drug case and was out of probation as of Thursday morning, according to police and court records.
According to a criminal complaint, Dorsett is accused of selling crack cocaine to undercover police officers on six occasions on the Lower East Side between March 8 and June 6 of that year.
He pleaded guilty to fifth-degree unlawful sale of a controlled substance and was sentenced May 22 to three years’ probation.
Officials said Dorsett was held overnight in the 5th Precinct and later charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted murder during the crimes of Thursday’s disturbance.
Other officers responded and restrained Dorsett and took him into custody. Police recovered a .45-caliber Taurus semi-automatic handgun at the scene, Kenney said.
Mayor Eric Adams praised both officers during a news conference Thursday night.
“They risk their lives for others, respond to calls for help, and walk or run toward danger while others flee,” Adams said. “The NYPD responded swiftly to this armed robbery and focused resources to quickly apprehend the perpetrator.”
The chaotic fight frightened passersby in the busy area of Lower Manhattan.
“There was a fight going on on the corner and there were four or five cops there. All of a sudden we heard a pop and we all ducked down,” witness Maxwell Vice, 25, told The Post. “We ducked down because we didn’t know if we were going to get into a shootout with the cops, but all of a sudden, like 400 cops came in.”
Weiss described the suspect as a tall man wearing an all-gray Nike tracksuit.
“They said he had a gun but it was hard to tell because he was going so fast,” Bice said, adding that the melee involved one gunman and about two dozen officers.
“He was pressuring the officers,” he said. “When I saw him pressuring the officers, I thought, ‘Oh my God, someone’s going to get shot,’ so I ducked down.”
“Even before I heard the gunshots, it was clear an argument was going to happen, so I ducked down because I couldn’t take the bullets.”
NYPD Commissioner Edward Cabán said he was relieved that both sergeants were expected to recover from Thursday’s shooting.
“As the mayor said, today is a reminder of the dangers our police officers face every day when they go out into the world to keep our city safe,” Cavan said.
Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said in a statement that the attack was the work of a “repeater who thought he could escape justice by attacking police officers” and called for tougher measures in the justice system to deter crime.
“We have been in court after court in the city demanding real punishment for violence against police officers,” he said.
“Our justice system needs to deliver those results all the time, not just when the spotlight is on us.”
