NEW YORK (AP) - A man has been sentenced to prison for shooting at a New York City police officer whose gun belt deflected the bullet.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said Friday that Luis Martinez will serve 28 years to life.
He was convicted of attempted murder in January. The jurors rejected his argument that he was defending himself in an encounter that spiraled into a running gun battle on the streets of downtown Manhattan.
Police and prosecutors said Martinez abruptly fired at an officer who approached to ask what he was doing in February 2012. Authorities said Detective Thomas Richards narrowly escaped serious injury when the bullet hit a spare magazine on his belt.
Richards’ partner fired several rounds as they chased Martinez.
The suspect was shot in the buttocks.
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