A former New Jersey police officer was sentenced to 27 years in prison for fatally shooting a Black man following a harrowing police chase through Newark more than five years ago.
Jovanny Crespo, who is Hispanic, was convicted in June 2023 on felony charges of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated assault, as well as two counts of official misconduct in the killing of Gregory Griffin on Jan. 28, 2019.
It’s not clear why the sentencing took a full year to finalize in what was an open-and-shut case of fatal misconduct that ended in a guilty verdict nearly 12 months ago.
The judge cited a “shoot-first, ask-questions-later” mentality by officers that led to the police shooting, according to NJ.com.
The deadly chase began when Griffin, a father of four children, allegedly drove off from a traffic stop by another officer, leading to a high-speed game of cat and mouse for several miles, with Crespo joining the chase as a backup unit and blasting indiscriminately at Griffin’s car at three locations before killing him.
Griffin’s passenger, 35-year-old Andrew Dixon, was seriously wounded and survived but has since died of unrelated causes, prosecutors said.
When questioned after the shooting, Crespo claimed to have seen guns in Griffin’s vehicle, but other officers involved stated they couldn’t see inside the car due to its dark tinted windows.
The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund paid for Crespo’s lawyer.
During the trial, Crespo’s attorneys argued the shooting was justified, but prosecutors summed up Crespo’s actions as excessive force, saying Griffin was killed due to extreme recklessness by the officer.
On the night of the deadly chase, Griffin was pulled over for speeding, and the officer noticed he had a gun, which was later confirmed as a loaded, semi-automatic pistol.
Next, Griffin put the car in gear and fled with the officer in pursuit.
Bodycam footage emerged later showing Crespo firing his gun at the suspect’s car multiple times at three locations, eventually killing Griffin for what began as a simple speeding ticket.
Crespo was indicted on May 21, 2019, following a four-month investigation, which concluded his conduct “was criminal.”
There is no indication that Griffin ever returned fire or rolled his windows down throughout the entire chase, leading prosecutors to conclude Crespo’s gunfire was not warranted.
At trial, Crespo testified in his own defense, claiming he saw a gun pointed at him.
“I stopped a threat,” he said on the stand, according to CBS News New York.
But prosecutors noted that in Crespo’s own police report, he didn’t mention facing any immediate danger, and only described the threat as a fast-moving vehicle.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Patrick Toscano told the jury that Crespo’s actions were “Not even close to official misconduct.”
“This law enforcement officer saved lives that night — end of story,” he said.
But in his own closing statement, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Alex Albu maintained the defendant was not justified to use deadly force because the suspect was fleeing.
After Crespo’s conviction, his mother, Aida Crespo, made a statement in open court, tearfully pleading with the judge for mercy, saying the impact of a lengthy sentence would be devastating to her son and their entire family.
Despite her passionate entreaty, the judge sent Crespo away for nearly three decades.
He could get out of prison in 23 years with good behavior, shaving five years off his time.
