A Braintree man pleaded guilty today to a variety of charges, including armed assault with intent to murder, for shooting at a police officer during a foot chase at the Old Harbor housing project on July 16, 2013, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
Paul Eric Louis-Jeune, 23, missed. Another officer returned fire, hitting him in the chest. He was arraigned in his hospital bed.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball sentenced Louis-Jeune to 6 to 8 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 10 to 12 years.
According to the DA's office:
Uniformed Boston Police officers were on a routine patrol when they received information regarding a drug transaction that had occurred in the area. While driving in a marked cruiser, officers observed a man later identified as Louis-Jeune, who matched the description of the alleged dealer. After making eye contact with officers, Louis-Jeune ran. As one officer chased him on foot within the housing project, a second officer remained in the cruiser and followed behind.
As Louis-Jeune approached the corner of a building, he suddenly turned, pulled a .38 caliber revolver from his waistband and aimed it at the officer on foot. He fired one shot from a distance of 10 feet from the officer; though the bullet missed, [Assistant DA Craig] Iannini told the court that the officer was able to feel the heat of the bullet and hear it whistle as it passed by his head. Louis-Jeune then took aim once again and was himself shot once by the second officer, prosecutors said.
The officer whom Louis-Jeune shot at told Ball he forgave Louis-Jeune
"I am willing to set aside all this anger as best I can and I’m willing to personally forgive Mr. Louis-Jeune even if he is not contrite," the officer said. "That being said, I still believe Mr. Louis-Jeune should be severely punished: not for his crime against [me] but for his actions against society …. He wanted to kill the very representation of our laws, our society, and our city."