BROOKLYN, NY – Today, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Kelvin Stichel, a 37-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant man, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder. In July 2018, Stichel fired six shots at four NYPD officers, wounding Detective Miguel Soto in the leg.
The incident began when Detective Soto and three other officers from the NYPD’s Warrant Squad in Brooklyn North were driving an unmarked car on Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. They recognized Stichel from an investigation card for an alleged armed robbery. Upon seeing the officers make a U-Turn, Stichel fled the scene and was pursued by the officers, first by car and then on foot.
Despite the officers identifying themselves and ordering him to display his hands, Stichel pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and fired six shots at them. Detective Soto was struck in the right leg, and the officers returned fire, hitting Stichel once in the left arm. Stichel was later apprehended at 39 Kingston Street, and the handgun used in the shooting was recovered from a nearby trashcan.
Detective Soto, a decorated seven-year veteran of the NYPD, was treated at Kings County Hospital and released. Stichel was taken to a local hospital for treatment before facing charges. In addition to his 16-year prison sentence, Stichel will serve five years of post-release supervision.