Queens DA, NYPD ask public for help in cold case murder of correction officer

Law enforcement officials are hoping the public can help solve the 4-year-old case of an off-duty correction officer who was gunned down in the street.

John Jeff, 28, was shot at an intersection near JFK airport on Aug. 15, 2020 at around 3 a.m. A nearby security camera caught footage of the incident, which officials released this week. The city’s Crime Stoppers program is also offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to those responsible for the killing.

“Although cases grow cold, they are never forgotten,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in an announcement Wednesday. “We hope that by publicly releasing this surveillance footage we will bring more attention to this senseless unsolved murder.”

Jeff was riding in a black Chevy Malibu driven by a female friend and coworker, which was pulled over in front of a fire hydrant on Ridgedale Street, according to Katz’s office. The car was blocked in by a garbage truck up the road, and the driver tried to reverse to leave the area, but was blocked by two other cars, a black Mercedes and a blue BMW, her office said.

Jeff got out of his car to ask the drivers to back up, and got into an argument with the people inside the black Mercedes, according to prosecutors.

They said he identified himself as an officer, and drew his firearm. The black Mercedes reversed, and Jeff got back into the Malibu, making a left onto Defoe Street, where it was quickly blocked a second time by a white Infiniti traveling in the opposite direction, they said.

When someone tapped on the car, Jeff exited again and a second argument began, prosecutors said.

That’s when the gunfire erupted, according to Katz’s office, adding that investigators believe Jeff was shot with his own weapon. All three other vehicles fled the scene, and Jeff, who sustained eight gunshot wounds, was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 3:37 a.m., prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say people from a nearby house party had started to gather when the second dispute began.

The newly released security footage captured the sound of people shouting followed by gunshots. Someone is seen running away from the scene. According to prosecutors, an analysis determined there were two firearms used at the scene. They say Jeff may have been shot with his own firearm as well as the shooter’s, as neither was recovered.