BOSTON, Jan. 11, 2016—A convicted felon on probation after a prison sentence and being sought for selling cocaine opened fire on a Boston Police officer, hitting him, before being tackled and taken into custody, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said after the man’s arraignment today.
GRANT HEADLEY (D.O.B. 6/28/88) of Dorchester was arraigned in Dorchester Municipal Court on two sets of charges: distribution of a Class B substance as a second or subsequent offense for a Jan. 5 incident, and unlawful possession of a firearm as a second or subsequent offense, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and armed assault with intent to murder for the Jan. 8 incident that injured a member of the Boston Police Drug Control Unit.
Judge Jonathan Tynes set bail at $1 million for the shooting offenses and $500,000 for the drug offenses.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Hallal, chief of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit, told the court that DCU officers observed an apparent drug transaction Tuesday afternoon and approached the buyer, who admitted buying a quantity of crack cocaine from the seller, later identified as Headley. Headley left the scene in a black Acura before he could be apprehended, and officers undertook efforts to locate him.
On Friday morning, Hallal said, officers observed Headley traveling on Mt. Bowdoin Terrace in the same black Acura. When he pulled over at about 10:25 am, the officers boxed his vehicle in with their own unmarked cruisers and approached on foot.
Headley exited his vehicle with a firearm in his hand, turned, and began firing multiple shots at one of the officers while moving toward him, Hallal said. The officer was struck once in the left leg. The officer returned fire but did not hit Headley, who fled through a vacant lot toward Geneva Avenue.
As police and civilians aided the injured officer, another officer who was approaching the scene spotted the assailant running from the scene. This officer reversed course and drove toward Geneva Avenue in an effort to locate the gunman. Aided by a civilian witness, the officer observed Headley running down the driveway of a Geneva Avenue residence. The officer drew his firearm and ordered Headley to stop, to no avail. This officer continued his pursuit, tackled the defendant, and took him into custody with the assistance of additional responding officers.
“Illegal guns and illicit drugs come together in too many cases to count,” Conley said. “Sadly, that’s nothing new. But this case also offers a study in contrast: A convicted drug dealer who allegedly shot a police officer without any warning or justification, and another officer who risked his own life to take him into custody. It’s by the grace of God that the injured officer is expected to recover and Friday’s events didn’t end in tragedy.”
Officers recovered $765 in cash and the key to the Acura on Headley’s person. Along his path of flight, investigators recovered a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun with an obliterated serial number and a large-capacity magazine. It was still loaded with seven rounds in the magazine and an additional round jammed in the chamber. They also recovered outerwear similar to that Headley was wearing at the time he allegedly opened fire and a plastic bag with nine apparent rocks of crack cocaine.
At the time of his arrest – and the alleged drug transaction that preceded it – Headley was on probation following a five-year state prison sentence for a 2009 gun and drug case.
Headley was represented by attorney Sarah Kennedy. He will return to court on Feb. 8.
–30–
All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
