NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 11, 2023) — Jarrell R. Garris, the 38-year-old man shot by a New Rochelle Police Detective on July 3rd, after an alleged shoplifting incident at a grocery store, had a history of troubling behavior. His criminal history includes multiple arson attacks, one against a grocery store, one against an apartment building, and other violent, destructive and criminal behavior, based on police and court records seen by Talk of the Sound.
His behavior was so concerning that two years ago, Garris was banned from New Rochelle Muncipal Housing Authority property. On March 27, 2021, the New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority served Jarrell R. Garris with an order banning him from the premises of 361 Main Street (Bracey Apartments).
On October 20, 2021, at approximately 1:01 AM, Garris intentionally started a fire in the garbage can of the bathroom at New Rochelle Deli & Grocery located at 476 Main Street. The fire filled the deli with smoke and caused damage to the floor and walls of the deli bathroom in the amount of $5,000 dollars.
According to the deli owner, Jarrell Garris was a regular customer at his store. Garris went into the bathroom, then came out with a lit cigarette. The store owner told him to leave and kicked him out of the store. The owner then noticed smoke throughout the store. In the bathroom, the owner saw a plastic garbage bin in flames. CCTV video captured Jarrell Garris on video walking in, then out, of the bathroom shortly before the fire began.
Garris was arrested and charged with Arson — 5th and Criminal Mischief — 4th.
On October 20, 2021, between 2:44 AM and 12:00 PM, following his arrest on the arson charge, Garris stuffed his clothing down the toilet of his cell at New Rochelle Police Department Headquarters at 475 North Avenue, causing the toilet to flood the area throughout the cells, smearing his own feces on the wall of the cell.
On October 20, 2021, Jarrell Garris was arraigned in New Rochelle City Court on 2 Misdemeanor Counts of Disorderly Conduct (Hazardous Offensive Condition).
On November 2, 2021, at about 7:00 PM Jarrell Garris entered the premises of 361 Main Street in New Rochelle, a public housing project, in violation of conspicuously posted rules or regulations governing entry and use when he entered the apartment building at 361 Main Street in violation of a previous order banning him from the premises.
Garris ripped up pieces of paper and set them on fire using a lighter, then placed them into the area of a garbage chute, causing fire and smoke to spread throughout the chute into the apartment building, damaging the building and creating a grave risk of death to the residents.
The fire only stopped when residents poured water down the garbage chute.
Garris was arrested and charged with Reckless Endangerment —1st, a D Felony, Attempted Arson — 3rd, a C Felony, and Criminal Trespass—3rd, a Misdemeanor, based on a complaint filed by Angela Davis Farrish, Executive Director of the New Rochelle Muncipal Housing Authority and co-Chair of the New Rochelle African-American Advisory Committee.
On November 4, 2021, at approximately 2:20 AM, two days after he was charged with the Bracey arson, and while being treated at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital at 16 Guion PIace, and after being ordered to remain seated, Garris spat on two police officers and said, “you have AIDS now”. Garris began spitting on the glass and the floor of the location, then grabbed a bottle of iodine from a cabinet and began spraying it around the room. The iodine struck another New Rochelle Police officer’s clothing, uniform vest, and pants. Garris proceeded to push a Dell computer off a table and began rummaging through cabinets, throwing sharps containers onto the floor, causing damage exceeding $1,500. As 8 police officers attempted to restrain Garris, he spat on them after claiming he had AIDS and COVID-19.
Garris was charged with 8 counts of Endangerment — 2nd, an A Misdemeanor, Criminal Mischief — 2nd, a D Felony, Criminal Mischief — 3rd, an E Felony, 8 counts of Harassment – 2nd, a violation, one count of Obstruct Governmental Administration — 2nd, an A Misdemeanor and Tampering — 3rd, an A Misdemeanor.
On November 4, 2021, at approximately 1:35 PM, after the Montefiore incident, at New Rochelle Police Department Headquarters at 475 North Avenue, Garris stuffed a t-shirt, toilet paper, and various food wrappers into the toilet in his cell, causing the toilet to become clogged and flood his cell, with the water flooding another cell in the block as well as leaking into the gym on the floor below.
Garris was charged with Criminal Mischief — 4th, an A Misdemeanor.
Garris subsequently moved to North Carolina, only returning to New Rochelle recently.
Jarrell Garris, posting under “CeeTwo”, made several threatening Instagram Posts over the month leading up to the officer-involved shooting on July 3rd.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I have sought, under Freedom of Information requests, all available public records for Jerrell Garris from the City of New Rochelle, New Rochelle Police Department, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, City of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Police Department, New York State Attorney General’s Office and requested that the Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester share whatever records support their statement below.
Additional Information on Jarrell Garris Criminal History from Statement by Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester
Jarrell Garris had a lengthy criminal past and a history of mental health issues, including schizophrenia. At the time of his death, he was on felony probation for Attempted Arson in the Third Degree following his arrest for setting fire to a trash chute in a Municipal Housing Residence in New Rochelle. He was sentenced to probationary supervision for five years on November 9, 2022, with his probation supervision transferred to North Carolina. On the date of his death, he was an absconder from North Carolina, and was not authorized to be in New York; earlier that same day, he had broken into the home of a New Rochelle resident.
Throughout his life, Jarrell Garris was subject to multiple arrests and convictions, including a 2007 felony conviction that resulted in a probationary term of five years. That plea covered a number of additional crimes, which included resisting arrest and reckless endangerment. His 2022 plea to Attempted Arson covered a number of local charges in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle as well, including a second allegation of Attempted Arson in the Fifth Degree.
Garris was a known user of dangerous and illegal drugs. In fact, he was admitted to Mount Vernon Hospital on July 1, 2023 – just two days before this shooting – after being observed self-mutilating himself in public. While detained, he acknowledged that he was under the influence of PCP. He was treated and released from Mount Vernon Hospital.
In summary, Jarrell Garris had a long and troubled history of mental health and legal issues, which by and large, went unaddressed.
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