Arrest Cop for Scheme To Rob Old Apartment Of Deported Dealer

An NYPD officer was arrested May 13 in Manhattan on Federal charges of allegedly attempting to rob $900,000 left in an uptown apartment by the former tenant, an arrested drug dealer.

Shawn Jenkins, who was assigned to the 23rd Precinct, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce and one count of attempt to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, on each charge.

On Tape Planning Robbery

During several telephone calls and meetings, many of which were recorded, between May 5 and May 12, Mr. Jenkins allegedly discussed robbing an apartment located on Broadway in Upper Manhattan with a confidential informant.

Mr. Jenkins told the informant that a drug dealer, for whom he worked as a bodyguard, used to live in the apartment and store money there. He allegedly said the dealer had been arrested and deported but had asked him to retrieve the cash hidden under the floor in a closet in the apartment, where someone else now lived.

He told the informant he was going to give much of the money back to the former owner of the apartment, who needed it for his mother, according to court documents.

After a meeting on May 7, the informant agreed to pose as a law-enforcement officer, knock on the apartment door, serve an official document on the current occupant to gain entry, and then use a stun gun to immobilize the occupant.

Raid Jackets and Handcuffs

Mr. Jenkins and the informant discussed wearing disguises, including raid jackets and other police clothing, and using handcuffs. Mr. Jenkins also allegedly provided the informant with an official NYPD document to use to gain entry to the apartment. The conversation was video and audio taped, according to prosecutors.

On May 12, Mr. Jenkins called the informant and told him he wanted to rob the apartment that night. He was arrested by the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau May 13 before he could get the money to the former occupant of the apartment, who was deported to the Dominican Republic in January 2008 after he was convicted of a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. After the arrest, the cop was suspended, according to Paul J. Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman.

Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is scheduled to prosecute the case. T.H.