A suspended NYPD officer pleaded guilty in White Plains County Court Tuesday to charges of attempted murder.
Brendan Cronin, 28, entered the plea to all five counts against him. Those charges include attempted murder, assault and driving while intoxicated.
Cronin admitted that in April 2014, while off duty, he used his police-issued 9mm Glock to fire 14 shots into a car stopped at the intersection of Lincoln and Sixth avenues in Pelham. He says he had been at a training class earlier in the day and then went drinking at a bar in City Island, the Bronx.
The two men inside the car, Joseph Felice and Robert Borrelli, both of New Rochelle, were returning home from a hockey game at the time.
Felice was hit six times and says that while he has healed, he still has a bullet in his chest.
Borrelli was not hit by any bullets but says the experience was terrifying. "We're very relieved that we finally have an admission of guilt from this officer that he did indeed try to kill Joseph and I," says Borrelli.
Cronin will spend nine years in prison under terms of the plea agreement. He will be formally sentenced on Dec. 2. Still, nine years isn't enough for the two victims. "I'm sure that if I opened fire into a police car I would be doing much more than nine years," says Felice.
Felice and Borrelli have filed a civil lawsuit against Cronin, his supervisor and the NYPD.