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Read the press release here.

'I Was Smoking PCP,' Accused Killer of NYPD Officer Said After Arrest

By Gustavo Solis | December 8, 2015 12:24pm
 Police identified Tyrone Howard, 30, as the suspected gunman in the Oct. 20 fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Randolph Holder.
Police identified Tyrone Howard, 30, as the suspected gunman in the Oct. 20 fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Randolph Holder.
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NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision

EAST HARLEM — The man accused of killing Detective Randolph Holder told police that he was too high to know where he was when he was shot, according to court documents.

“I was smoking PCP,” Tyrone Howard told officers at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center a few hours after the Oct. 20 shooting. “It could’ve been at the East 112 footbridge.”

The accused gunman, who was out of jail on a special drug treatment program, told officers he was on the drug twice during the same conversation while being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg that night. In a separate conversation he contradicted himself saying, "I'm not on anything. PCP."

Howard initially told detectives, “My life is ruined,” before asking if he could call his girlfriend and giving them a false name, according to court documents.

“My name is Juan Gonzalez, date of birth is 3/19/1983, I mean 4/19/83, Englewood NJ,” he said. “There’s nothing in NJ.”

Howard, who eventually told police his real name, told detectives at the hospital that police shot him “for no reason,” and said he was unarmed. Police pulled a gun from the East River a few days later.

Police confiscated four handguns, including a Smith & Weston pistol and a semi-automatic pistol from him, according to court documents. They also found more than two dozen discharged shell casings, ammo, and a fake New Jersey driver’s license. 

At the hospital Howard tried to strike a deal with police, telling them, “I can make you look good if you help me. I’ll tell you everything. I can give you other homicides.”

Once he was transported to the 25th Precinct he refused to answer any questions and asked to speak with a lawyer, records show.

Howard pleaded not guilty to murder charges in court on Nov. 24. His next court date is Feb. 1.

Dozens of police officers attended his November arraignment. Afterward the head of the police union held an impromptu press conference where he vowed to follow Howard's case until the end.