The suspect whose high-ranking police official mother drove the getaway car after he shot at a rival gang outside a Bronx courthouse had just appeared inside on an unrelated gun case before opening fire, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.
After leaving the courthouse on June 29, Chase Lackard got into his family’s van, with he and his parents circling the courthouse at least four times, Assistant District Attorney Keturah Ladd said at his arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court.
Lackard, 20, had been in court that day for a hearing on his ongoing case stemming from a November 2024 clash with NYPD cops.
Chase, who authorities say is a member of the “Slutty Gang,” was shot in Soundview by NYPD cops. Officers responding to a clash at the Stevenson Commons residential tower on White Plains Road near Lafayette Ave. saw him waving a gun, police said at the time.
Chase was shot twice in the leg by police after he allegedly pointed his 9 mm. pistol at officers, police said. He was charged with criminal use of a firearm and menacing a police officer.
On Tuesday, Lackard was arrested alongside his mother, Mount Vernon Police Deputy Commissioner for Public Safety Jennifer Lackard. Jennifer was fired from the force hours after her arrest.
Cops executing a search warrant Tuesday morning found a firearm in the family’s apartment, officials said. Chase’s girlfriend, Briannah Harris, 20, who was in the apartment at the time, was arrested on weapons possession charges, but did not participate in the shooting, prosecutors said.
While authorities had initially described Jennifer as her son’s getaway driver, her son was actually in the van with her when he opened fire, prosecutors later revealed.
Jennifer is also accused of coaching him in text messages how to pull off the attempted gang hit.
The accused gunman got out of the van for a few minutes, then got back in in the moments before he opened fire, prosecutors say.
“The car is then observed making a left turn onto [E. 162nd St.] towards Grant Ave,” Ladd said, referring to the back of the Bronx Hall of Justice. “Once there, the rear passenger side and the driver’s side window [are] rolled down, and numerous shots are discharged from that window and surveillance captures the arm of the individual holding the firearm, and who we have proven is the defendant..”
No one was stuck.
Chase’s lawyer, Jeff Henie, argued that his client has no convictions and so deserves to be released on bail but Judge Laurence Busching ordered Chase held without bail.
Outside court, Henie said the case “will be resolved in the court of law, not in the court of public opinion.”
Chase has been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and gun possession.
His mother was fired Tuesday from her deputy commissioner post with the Mount Vernon Police Department after her and her son were arrested Tuesday morning at their Soundview home on Boynton Ave.
Jennifer is charged with attempted murder and conspiracy. She was arraigned Tuesday, with bail set at $75,000.
James Lackard, who is Chase’s dad and Jennifer’s wife, is charged in the indictment with attempted murder and conspiracy. He is believed to be in North Carolina and is not yet in custody.
Evidence in the case includes text messages, authorities said.
“Be right out front when I leave,” Chase allegedly texted in the minutes before the shooting,
“When???? You can’t just stand out front. The timing has to be right,” his mom wrote back.
