Joshua Dorsett was sentenced to 20 years for shooting two NYPD officers.

A prison term after a guilty plea is the judgment on the counts that were admitted. It is not a trial verdict on every count that was filed at the start. On Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, Justice Laura Ward sentenced Joshua Dorsett to 20 years. The New York Daily News reported the plea was to aggravated assault upon a police officer and robbery. Those admissions are what the 20 years sit on.

On Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Laura Ward sentenced Joshua Dorsett, 24, to 20 years in prison, the New York Daily News reported. The paper reported he pleaded guilty in August to aggravated assault upon a police officer and robbery, from an incident on Aug. 1, 2024. The New York Post reported the plea was entered Aug. 10 and that the assault count involved a deadly weapon. A guilty plea admits the counts that were entered. It is not a jury finding on the rest of the charging document.

The New York Daily News reported the case began at a gaming parlor on Canal Street near Eldridge Street. Prosecutors said Dorsett, of Two Bridges, held 20 people at gunpoint and took a stack of cash, purses, and a book bag, then went to a clothing store on Delancey Street and changed clothes. Lt. Carl Johnson of the 5th Precinct and Sgt. Christopher Leap of the 7th Precinct pursued him. The Daily News, citing court documents, reported they threw him against a car when he would not drop a .45-caliber pistol. Prosecutors said he fired inside his pocket. One bullet went through Johnson's groin, exited, and struck Leap in the upper thigh. The paper reported both officers were promoted after the shooting. That is the account the plea covered.

A prosecutor read Johnson's victim-impact statement. The Daily News quoted it in part: "Joshua, every step I take, every time I lift my child, I am reminded of the sacrifices I have made protecting the city," and "There was no need for you to fire that gun — only to serve your false sense of power and entitlement." The statement called 20 years too short and added, "God willing, when you are released, you will be able to make a positive impact upon the community." The Sergeants Benevolent Association said Monday, "Without any hesitation, Sergeants Leap and Johnson jumped into action, pursued the perp and were shot while apprehending him." The New York Post reported Dorsett declined to speak and that his lawyer, Dean Vigliano, said the defense plans to appeal the sentence. An appeal that has not been decided does not lift the term the court imposed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.