QUEENS — A 28-year-old Jamaica man convicted of trying to murder a police sergeant during a 2012 shooting has been sentenced to the maximum of 55 years to life in prison, the Queens District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday.
John Thomas was convicted in June last year of a number of charges including attempted murder of a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon, after he shot Sgt. Craig Bier, 44, a member of the Queens Gang Unit, twice in the legs on Aug. 8, 2002.
Thomas had been held without bail since his arrest in September 2012.
“This was a senseless, violent act and once again illustrates how dangerous police work is," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. "The defendant has shown that he has no regard for authority and is a menace to society."
Bier, a 15-year NYPD veteran, was patrolling Jamaica in plainclothes with his partner, when they spotted Thomas riding on a bicycle along 107th Avenue. When they tried to stop him, Thomas fled, police said back then.
Thomas later fired four shots from his .9-mm Ruger at the officer when he caught up with him around 106-20 Union Hall St., according to the NYPD.
Bier, who had returned fire with six shots, was taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition and released two days after the incident.
Bier was present at the sentencing Wednesday. "You shot me," he said to Thomas according to published reports. "You're an idiot and a menace."
