Trial begins in case of attempted murder of Queens police officers

Joel Kelly claims his gun went off by accident during a police chase during a July 2024 shooting. Kelly’s attempted murder trial began in Queens Criminal Court on Monday. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson

By Noah Powelson

The trial of a Far Rockaway man accused of attempting to shoot two NYPD police officers began on Monday.

Joel Kelly of Far Rockaway Beach is accused of firing a ghost gun in a housing complex, and later taking a shot at two officers attempting to arrest him.

While none of the bullets fired out of Kelly’s gun hit anyone, prosecutors opened the trial on Monday painting the Queens man as someone intent on killing the officers chasing him down. Kelly’s attorney, however, presented a different tale – the gun was accidentally fired when Kelly fell during the chase.

The opening arguments delivered on Monday at times were contentious, potentially setting up a tense trial in a case that has drawn interest from the police – a handful of uniformed officers sat in the small courtroom listening in solidarity as Queens Supreme Court Judge Ira Margulis presided over the case. Kelly’s attorney, however, claimed the attention is unwarranted and more likely a tool to make an example out of the defendant.

The shooting unfolded on July 27, 2024 at the NYCHA Beach 41st Street Houses in Far Rockaway. Kelly was apparently visiting his sister at the time, when an argument broke out that ended with Kelly firing his 9mm pistol in the hallway outside his sister’s apartment.

Two police officers responded to a 911 call, allegedly from Kelly’s sister, following the shooting. They arrived on scene and found Kelly near the housing complex walking with a bag around his shoulders. The officers allegedly approached Kelly, telling him multiple times to stop, but the defendant fled with the officers pursuing close behind.

At some point during this chase, Kelly fell over in the courtyard of the Beach 41st Street Houses. When he attempted to get up, he turned to look at the two officers, at which point “one gunshot, one big loud bang” rang out as Kelly’s gun fired off, according to the prosecution.

This single bullet and where it was intended to go, if anywhere, will decide the fate of the 60-year-old man.

The officers took cover when the gunshot was heard and called for backup. Kelly allegedly fled and threw his gun under a van in a nearby parking lot. But at that point, somewhere around a dozen officers had responded to the call, and Kelly was arrested.

The prosecution plans to introduce a wide swath of evidence over the coming weeks, including surveillance footage taken from the housing complex, police body worn cameras, neighbors who witnessed the shooting, firearm experts and forensics specialists to paint the story of what happened that night. Through the evidence, the prosecution told the jury, they intend to prove that Kelly made a wide desperate swinging motion with his arm, pointed his gun in the general direction of the officers and fired a bullet.

Kelly does not deny he had an illegal firearm at the time. But his attorney, Scottie Celestin, argued the district attorney left out a key piece of information during their opening statement. Kelly was drunk at the time of the shooting. According to Celestin, because Kelly was intoxicated, he tripped, slammed his face into the ground and shot the gun by accident.

In a dramatic opening statement that went through a gambit of objections, Celestin accused not just the police officers but the district attorneys involved in this case of participating in a coordinated lie to book Kelly with a disproportionate sentence.

In his opening statement, Kelly’s attorney argued that the narrative the district attorney presented does not match the narrative officers gave during the night of the shooting. He said the police body camera footage taken immediately following the shooting shows no officers claimed Kelly fired at them. The narrative of attempted murder, Kelly’s attorney argued, was only formed after the fact when police supervisors got involved.

The videos taken of the incident, especially of police body-worn cameras, are likely to play a critical role in determining Kelly’s intentions that night.

Attacking the character of the district attorney and the supervising police officers involved in this case, Kelly’s attorney told the jury to not just pay attention not just to the information the prosecutors give, but the information they don’t.

“The video does not depict what they are saying,” Celestin told the jury. “They are trying to convince you that it does.”

Under New York State law, crimes attempted against a police officer, whether they succeed or not, are treated with the same severity as if the crime was accomplished. If Kelly is found guilty of attempted murder of a police officer, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.

The trial is expected to continue through next week.