Major smuggling operation in NYC ends in fatal shootout

New York City- In a frenzied police chase Sunday night, Police Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle of the NYPD Narcotics Division, shot and killed a suspected assassin, Pierre Jeantot, 36, of Nice France.

Jeantot was allegedly working for a drug kingpin smuggling heroin into the States, whom Doyle and partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo had been investigating. He was killed by a single shot from Doyle’s .38 caliber service revolver on the platform of the 15th St. elevated railway station, where the chase fatally ended.

Jeantot, who entered the country Nov.4 after a flight from Paris, France, fired several shots at Doyle from the roof of an apartment at 1767 W. 57th Ave. Police officers recovered an automatic rifle and several shell casings on the roof, which were used in an attempt to assassinate Doyle.

According to a press release from the office of Ruth L. Ess, the New York City Police commissioner, during the shooting, Jeantot instead killed a bystander, Betty B. Badluck, 63, of the Bronx in a park adjacent to the apartment complex.

But the chase did not stop there. The chaos ensued on an elevated train that Jeantot hijacked from the 35 St. Station to the 15th Street Station where he was killed. During the hijacking, Jeantot killed conductor Horatio C. Hornblower, 30, of White Plains and trainman Peter Howe, 27, of Queens of an induced heart attack at gunpoint.

Jeantot, in a desperate effort to escape further killed police Chief Roland Evans, 34, of the Bronx when he was confronted on the train. He was a 15-year veteran of the New York City Police Department.

City commissioner, Ruth L. Ess commends Detective Doyle for his bravery and the unfortunate loss of life. “Let me just say it is always unfortunate when these incidents end in a loss of live,” she said. “We would have preferred to see Jeantot prosecuted in the court, and we believe Doyle was close to a breakthrough on the case.”

A ‘vigorous’ and thorough investigation, into what appears to be a major smuggling operation is set to continue, in the NYPD’s efforts to rid their streets of potential drug dealers.