NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A man was sentenced Wednesday to 33 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges in connection to a friendly-fire shooting that claimed the life of an NYPD officer in 2019.
Christopher Ransom had initially been charged with murdering 42-year-old Det. Brian Simonsen and pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and robbery.
During a plea hearing last month, Ransom waived his right to appeal and answered affirmatively to questions asked by Judge Kenneth Holder in court.
Related
Ransom, 30, and accomplice, Jagger Freeman, used a fake gun to hold up at a T-Mobile store in Richmond Hill in a "prank gone horribly wrong," police said.
Upon arrival, Ransom ran towards police pointing the fake weapon.
Simonsen was shot in the chest in February 2019 as he and six other officers opened fire on Ransom.
Simonsen, a 19-year veteran of the force, was struck in the chest and killed.
Related
Simonsen's sergeant, Matthew Gorman, was also shot in the leg, but recovered from his injuries.
Ransom was shot eight times but survived.
A total of 42 rounds were fired by NYPD officers at the scene within 11 seconds, investigators said.
Ransom "set in motion a terrible chain of events that began with a robbery and ended in a spray of bullets," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said at the time of Ransom's plea. " The defendant was repeatedly told to lower his weapon but did not do so. The heartbreaking result was the loss of Detective Simonsen's life and Sergeant Matthew Gorman being shot in the leg. We express our condolences once again to Detective Simonsen's family and hope today brings them a measure of closure.
A criminal complaint released after the shooting said Ransom and another man planned to split the proceeds from the robbery which totaled $1,000 and 25 iPhones.
Ransom's sentence is to be followed by five years post release supervision.