NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Officials arraigned a 28-year-old man accused of leading police on an extended high-speed car chase, injuring a motorist and a biting a police officer's fingertip off, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Wednesday.
Lenni Rodriguez Cruz, of Brooklyn, was arraigned on a 15-count indictment charging him with two counts of assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, assault on a peace or police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional, reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration, unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by the combined use of drugs or of alcohol and drugs, reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt, operating or driving a motor vehicle with improper license plates, operating or driving a motor vehicle without a license and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.
According to the charges, at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sept. 20, an officer observed Rodriguez Cruz driving a blue 2009 Nissan Altima without a seatbelt at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica.
The officer, who was in full uniform and driving a marked police vehicle, found that the car's license plate was not registered to the vehicle, he turned on his lights and siren and attempted to get Rodriguez Cruz to pull over.
Rodriguez Cruz sped off, mounted a sidewalk and drove through Rufus King Park at 150th Street and Jamaica Avenue, causing parkgoers to scatter and run to safety, authorities said.
He then proceeded to drive the wrong way into oncoming traffic on Sutphin Boulevard and struck an occupied vehicle. Rodriguez Cruz then entered the Grand Central Parkway, hit two vehicles and continued driving.
The driver of one of the cars Rodriguez Cruz struck on the Grand Central Parkway needed to be treated at a local hospital for multiple injuries, officials said.
Rodriguez Cruz then continued onto the Grand Central Parkway service road, where he collided into into an unmarked police vehicle that was part of a barricade set up to stop him.
The three officers who had been inside the police car were able to jump out just before impact, prosecutors said.
When officers pulled Rodriguez Cruz out of his crashed car, he had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred his speech and his breath smelled of alcohol, officials said.
A clear plastic cup containing an alcoholic beverage was also discovered inside his car.
Rodriguez Cruz failed to stop at approximately 20 steady red lights during the chase, police said.
He was taken to the 103rd police precinct, where he struck, and spit on, a sergeant attempting to place him in a holding cell.
Rodriguez Cruz also bit off the tip of the officer's left ring finger. The sergeant required stitches and a revision amputation, leaving the officer without the use of his finger down to his first knuckle, authorities said.
Additionally, Rodriguez Cruz was unable to provide a valid driver's license, nor was there a record of him having one.
If convicted, Rodriguez Cruz faces up to 25 years in prison. Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino ordered him to return to court on Nov. 15.
"The rule of law, and the officers who enforce it, will be respected. The defendant is accused of recklessly putting countless lives at grave risk, injuring a motorist and causing a grievous permanent injury to a police officer. The dangerous lawlessness seen here simply will not be tolerated or excused," District Attorney Katz said.
