The two undercover cops who tried to arrest a fare beater in a Queens subway station had no way of knowing that what looked like a minor bust would suddenly turn into a life-and-death struggle.
But Raul NuÑez, an illegal immigrant who was deported a decade ago, was bent on not being sent back to the Dominican Republic.
“He had fears he was going to be deported,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. “He fought furiously not to be taken into custody, and you wouldn’t expect that because [fare beating] is a minor violation. This reaction apparently threw everyone off guard.”
How NuÑez sneaked back into the United States and why he would allegedly shoot two cops to avoid deportation remained a mystery.
After Officers Jason Maass, 28, and Shane Farina, 38, got one handcuff on NuÑez, he suddenly became violent.
As they grappled in the Queensbridge station in Long Island City Tuesday, Maass’ gun came loose and NuÑez grabbed it. Standing over the cops, he allegedly fired at point-blank range.
Maass escaped with a bullet graze. But the bullet that struck Farina lacerated his liver and punctured his intestines and stomach before breaking a rib while exiting his chest.
Farina, who underwent surgery, was initially in critical condition.
But yesterday, after his breathing tube was removed, he told officials, “I’m hurting.” And by day’s end, Farina was furiously scribbling notes, asking and answering questions of friends and relatives.
“We’re all praying for him,” said Farina’s brother-in-law, Patrick Gregory, 44. “He’s still not out of the woods.”
Farina’s father-in-law, Richard Gregory, a retired NYPD lieutenant, said his son and daughter-in-law, Kerry, are high-school sweethearts who’ve been married for 13 years and have two young children.
“I’m feeling great,” Jason Maass said after returning home after a night spent at his buddy’s side. “But I’m concerned for my partner – my partner’s a hero.”
Farina’s and Maass’ recoveries were welcome news to Lt. Gary Abrahall, who shot NuÑez twice while the suspect was trying to escape.
“Once I found out the cops were OK, that’s all I was concerned about,” he said. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”
When asked if he felt heroic, Abrahall replied, “Hardly. I’m not a hero. The two cops that took the bullets, they’re the heroes.”
NuÑez will be arraigned today at Bellevue Hospital on attempted-murder and assault charges.
Meanwhile, immigration officials are trying to determine when NuÑez re-entered the country. A source said it may have been as recently as six months ago.
He had been deported in June 1998 after serving less than a year of a two- to four-year sentence for selling cocaine in 1997.
Additional reporting by Joe Mollica, Kyle Murphy, Larry Celona, John Doyle, Tom Liddy and Kieran Crowley