A Brooklyn man was arraigned Sunday on felony robbery and assault charges for the attempted carjacking that led to an NYPD detective from Long Island being shot by friendly fire in the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens on Friday morning, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office said.
Kevin Dubuisson, 28, pleaded not guilty to a 16-count criminal complaint that included additional charges for assault on a police officer, grand larceny and menacing, according to a news release. Judge Joanne B. Watters ordered Dubuisson to be held without bail following the arraignment.
“This defendant brought chaos to a quiet Queens neighborhood on Friday morning when he attempted to carjack multiple people and assaulted a livery driver — events that directly led to a responding New York City Police Detective being shot in a friendly fire incident,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
NYPD Det. Corey Fisher, a 12-year veteran working in Queens South narcotics command, was struck in the leg and hand by police officers who opened fire while trying to stop Dubuisson during a carjacking of an Uber driver off the Whitestone Expressway shortly before 9 a.m., police said. Fisher underwent surgery at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on Friday and he remains hospitalized, according to police. His leg was broken in the incident, the district attorney’s office said.
Katz said Fisher was working plain clothes in an unmarked Chrysler Pacifica with his partner when they came upon Dubuisson running with what appeared to be a crowbar and getting into a stolen Toyota Highlander, which he backed into a second vehicle, injuring an elderly woman and her daughter.
Fisher pursued Dubuisson, placing his vehicle in front of the Toyota, which crashed into the Pacifica. The detective was shot moments later by three arriving uniformed officers after he and his partner exited the Pacifica with their guns drawn and urged Dubuisson to “stop the vehicle,” according to the news release. The shooting was captured on police body cameras and is being reviewed, NYPD officials said.
“Make no mistake, this defendant’s alleged actions set into motion the events that led to Detective Corey Fisher’s hospitalization,” Katz said in her statement.
Dubuisson’s alleged crime spree started about 8:40 a.m. when he walked into the parking lot of a Mobil gas station on Parsons Boulevard and entered a Hyundai Santa Fe with its engine running. He fled the scene after a struggle with a gas station employee who attempted to remove the keys from the vehicle, the district attorney’s office said.
A second alleged victim told investigators Dubuisson then threatened to kill her after she witnessed the incident at the gas station, putting his fist in his waistband and “simulating grabbing what appeared to be a firearm,” according to the news release.
Dubuisson then approached the owner of the Toyota Highlander at 8:50 a.m. at the intersection of 22nd Road and Whitestone Expressway Service Road, holding what appeared to be a metal hook to the driver’s head while telling him “give me the car,” the district attorney’s office said. The man ran away and a chase ensued leading back to the vehicle, where Fisher first spotted Dubuisson.
Defense attorney Robert Modler could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday. Dubuisson is due back in court Wednesday.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Dubuisson has a lengthy criminal record with 10 arrests and four felony convictions, including several knifepoint robberies and assaults on police officers.
Dubuisson was released from prison in March and on parole for robbery. He was arrested Thursday on a theft of service charge in Manhattan and released with a desk appearance ticket, the officials said.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.