Arrest 2 Who Shot At Cops Pursuing Them for Robberies

Two Ozone Park men were charged last week with shooting at Police Officers who were attempting to stop them after they allegedly stole a car, burglarized a house and robbed a woman on the street at gunpoint.

“In less than an hour, the two defendants are accused of committing more than a dozen serious felonies— including the attempted murder of police officers who put their lives and safety at risk as they braved gunfire in an effort to bring the defendants’ crime spree to a serious halt,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

Each Faces 25 Years

Urban Fermin, 30, and Darius Lowery, 22, were charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree robbery, attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, among other charges. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 25 years to life in state prison.

According to criminal charges, on Feb. 2, 2010 a 55-year-old Queens man left his white 2000 Ford Focus warming up outside his residence. When he returned five minutes later, the vehicle was gone. It is alleged that a 72-year-old Queens woman opened the front door of her residence and was confronted by two black men wearing masks and dark clothing.

Once inside the residence, the men—one displaying a black pistol and the other a revolver—ordered the woman’s 40-year-old daughter to get on the floor before eventually having the two women sit on a sofa. One of the men then allegedly stayed with the women while the other ransacked the residence.

Robbed Woman on Street

A 35-year-old South Ozone Park woman was walking along 128th St. when a vehicle passed her and she turned and saw a black man wearing dark clothing running toward her. He allegedly ripped the pocketbook from her and stated, “No, give me everything.”

After they fled in a Ford Focus, police attempted to pull the vehicle over. Mr. Lowery opened the side door of the moving vehicle and pointed a pistol at the marked police vehicle, firing at least two rounds of ammunition at the vehicle.

The Ford Focus was found abandoned at the intersection of 199th Ave. and 153rd St. with a Westinghouse flat screen television and a Nintendo Wii gaming console inside. A block away, police allegedly recovered a pistol containing one live round of ammunition in the chamber and three live rounds in the magazine.