2 Teens charged with attempted murder of NYPD officer
Harlem NY Feb 13, 2022
Two teenage brothers were charged with attempted murder in the stray-bullet shooting of an off-duty cop at a Harlem public housing complex, police said Saturday.
Paris Francis, 17, and Prince Francis, 16, were arrested Friday night and charged in the Feb. 5 shooting of Officer Robert Manley, 47, outside the Manhattanville Houses’ community center on Broadway near W. 130th St., officials said.
The teens are being charged as adults in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Manley, a 15-year NYPD veteran assigned to a public housing patrol unit in the Bronx, was attending a memorial service in the community center, located in a building where the brothers’ mother and younger siblings live, officials said.
A surveillance camera caught the boys entering the building and spending about an hour inside. As they scoped out the memorial service, they left and returned several times, according to a criminal complaint.
The teen boys, ages 17 and 16, were arrested Friday night and charged in the Feb. 5 shooting of Robert Manley, 47, outside the Manhattanville Houses’ community center on Broadway near W. 130th St.
When the boys ducked into the service, attendees observed that they acted strangely, prosecutors said.
Back in the front of the community center, the younger Francis was caught on camera pointing a gun at people inside the building lobby.
Within a minute, Paris Francis fired off three shots outside the community center, sending Manley and others nearby fleeing for cover. One man broke his elbow as he dove out of the line of fire, prosecutors said.
The brothers returned to their mother’s building and disappeared in a stairwell.
Police are still investigating if the shooting stemmed from an earlier dispute.
Manley at first didn’t realize he’d been shot, but as he described what he saw to responding officers, he started to feel pain in his left foot, cops said. The wound was minor, and he left Mount Sinai/Morningside Hospital hours later.
The teen boys, ages 17 and 16, were arrested Friday night and charged in the Feb. 5 shooting of Robert Manley, 47, outside the Manhattanville Houses’ community center on Broadway near W. 130th St.
Police charged Paris Francis with attempted murder, assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and criminal possession of a weapon. Prince Francis is charged with attempted murder.
Both boys have previous arrests and ties to gang violence, prosecutors allege.
Paris Francis has been identified by the NYPD as one of the “Top 10 shooters in all of NYC,” having been present in at least three shootings in the past year.
Prince Francis is out on bail for an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting a group of kids on a busy sidewalk while he was with his mother and siblings. His gunfire hit one person and narrowly missed a crowded bus.
While he has been out on bail, Prince Francis has been charged with robbery, gang assault and the shooting of Officer Manley, prosecutors said.
Both brothers were held without bail following their arraignments.
Manley was the seventh NYPD officer shot this year. The others include officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27, who were slain as they as they responded to a domestic disturbance call in a Harlem apartment Jan. 21.
New York Daily News
