NYPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder Charges in Westchester

Yonkers resident Brendan Cronin, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and related charges in connection with the April 2014 shooting of two men at an intersection in Pelham, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced.

Cronin, an off-duty New York City Police Officer at the time, pleaded guilty to:

• two counts of Attempted Murder, class “B” Felonies,
• two counts of Assault in the First Degree, class “B” Felonies
• one count of Driving While Intoxicated, a class “A” Misdemeanor.

According to DiFiore, on April 29, 2014, at approximately 11:55 PM, Cronin was “en route home from City Island after spending a day of in-service training at the New York Police Department’s Firearms and Tactics Section at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx.”

While his car was parked in the vicinity of the intersection of Sixth and Lincoln avenues, Cronin walked up to a vehicle occupied by Joseph Felice and Robert Borrelli that was stopped at a traffic light.

Cronin is alleged to have been intoxicated at the time, and he began firing a 9mm semi-automatic handgun into the car. He struck Felice six times; Borrelli, who was not hit, was able to drive the two to the hospital in time to save Felice’s life.

Felice’s injuries included, but were not limited to, multiple gunshot wounds to his back, shoulder, arm and chest, and he has required multiple surgeries to recover.

Cronin then the scene and was stopped a few blocks away by Pelham police and subsequently arrested.

Additionally, it was determined that he had been operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.

Bail was continued at $150,000.

Cronin will surrender on Sept. 29, and sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2.

He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Timothy Ward of the Superior Court Trial Division is prosecuting the case.

Photo: Brendan Cronin. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney’s office