The state attorney general indicted a New York City correction officer on murder and manslaughter charges Monday in the shooting death of an 18-year-old in the Bronx last month.
Prosecutors allege Dion Middleton, 45, shot at a car driving near the Cross Bronx Expressway and Morris Avenue just after 1 a.m. on July 21, killing Raymond Chaluisant. The off-duty correction officer then left the scene and reported to work later that morning before the NYPD arrested him, officials said.
Middleton was assigned to the Correction Academy's firing range, according to the Department of Correction.
Bronx Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Zimmerman set bail at $1 million bond or $500,000 cash, according to court records. Middleton will also have to wear an ankle monitor if he makes bail, prosecutors said.
The state attorney general, which handles all law enforcement-related fatalities, charged Middleton with second-degree murder and first- and second-degree manslaughter. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 25 years to life.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 16.
After he was arrested in July, the NYPD said someone from the car Chaluisant was riding in fired "water gel pellets" at Middleton. The correction officer "thought he was hit by a real gun, then returned fire at the car with his gun," a department spokesperson said on July 22.
Middleton "with intent to cause the death of a person, did cause the death of Raymond Chaluisant, by shooting him with a loaded firearm," the indictment reads.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association could not be reached for comment Monday, but in a statement the day after the shooting said "toy guns no longer resemble toys" and "they remain an ongoing threat to public safety." The union also pledged to supply representation for Middleton.
An attorney listed as Middleton's representation in court records did not immediately respond to a request for comment.