QUEENS — A Jamaica man has been found guilty of beating an off-duty police officer into a coma in 2013, the Queens District Attorney announced Thursday.
Hayden Holder, 32, was convicted of attacking NYPD Sgt. Mohamed Deen outside a restaurant on Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard around 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2013, according to Queens DA Richard Brown.
Holder had followed Deen to the takeout spot after the two men argued outside Club Maracas on Jamaica Avenue a half-hour earlier, the DA said.
When Deen tried to get into his car where his wife was waiting, Holder began throwing punches at the off-duty officer and knocked him to the ground, the DA said.
Holder then kicked Deen in the head repeatedly until he was knocked unconscious, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the pavement, the DA said.
Deen was transported to a local hospital where he was put in a medically induced coma and treated for a traumatic brain injury, multiple facial fractures, and an injured knee, said the DA.
His injuries caused constant headaches and double vision that prevented Deen from returning to work for four months after the attack, according to the DA.
Holder, who was arrested and charged with attempted murder one day after the attack, was convicted of assault Wednesday evening after a two-week trial in Queens Supreme Court, according to the DA.
Holder is expected to return to court on Nov. 16 for sentencing where he could receive up to 25 years in prison, according to the DA.
Holder’s attorney was not immediately available to comment.
