A New York City correction officer accused of fatally shooting a teenager while off duty has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, prosecutors announced Monday.
Dion Middleton, 45, of the Bronx, is accused of shooting and killing Raymond Chaluisant, 18, in July, according to an indictment.
At about 1:30 a.m. July 21, officers found Chaluisant unconscious and unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his face, the New York Police Department said in a statement. Chaluisant was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors say Middleton shot at a car in which Chaluisant was a passenger, then left the scene and reported to work that morning before he was apprehended by the New York City Police Department, according to a statement from New York City Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors did not elaborate on why Middleton shot at the car.
Middleton faces 25 years to life in prison if he is convicted of second-degree murder. He is being held at a $1 million bond under the condition he uses an ankle monitor if he makes bail, according to prosecutors. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Nov. 16.
Middleton’s attorney, Joey Jackson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. Jackson, who is also a legal analyst for CNN, told the network in July that Middleton was walking outside when he felt something hit his back at the time of the shooting and thought it was the fragments of a bullets that whizzed by.
Middleton then turned around and fired a single shot in the car’s direction, not knowing whether he hit anything, Jackson said.
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.