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Murder of Russel Timoshenko

SOLVED2007Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

## Overview Russel Timoshenko (August 18, 1983 – July 14, 2007) was a 23-year-old New York Police Department officer who was shot on July 9, 2007, while conducting a traffic stop in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. He died five days later after being declared brain-dead. The case drew national media attention, both for the four-day, three-state manhunt that followed and for the subsequent political debate it triggered over gun-tracing laws.

## The Shooting Timoshenko and his partner, Officer Herman Yan, were on patrol in a marked police car in Crown Heights when they spotted a 2003 black BMW SUV around 2:30 a.m. A license-plate check indicated the plate was registered to a different vehicle, prompting the officers to initiate a stop. As Timoshenko approached the passenger side, Dexter Bostic opened fire from the front passenger seat with a .45 caliber handgun, striking Timoshenko in the face and throat. From the back seat, Robert Ellis shot Officer Yan, who was struck in the arm and chest but was protected by his ballistic vest and returned fire. Lee Woods was driving the vehicle. The three men fled after firing at least seven rounds, abandoning the BMW several blocks away. Timoshenko was taken to Kings County Hospital Center; the gunshot wounds severed his spinal cord, leaving him unable to breathe independently and resulting in prolonged oxygen deprivation and a coma. He was declared dead on July 14, 2007, after tests showed no brain activity.

## Manhunt Police apprehended Lee Woods on July 10 at his girlfriend's home in Far Rockaway, Queens; he identified Bostic and Ellis as his accomplices. Bostic and Ellis fled across Long Island, by ferry to Connecticut, and then into Pennsylvania, aided unknowingly by a civilian driver. Hundreds of NYPD officers, U.S. marshals, and Pennsylvania State Troopers, along with helicopters and police dogs, participated in the search. Bostic was tackled by a state trooper near Interstate 80 on July 11, and Ellis was located by police dogs the following morning. Both were extradited to New York on July 12, 2007.

## Trial and Sentencing All three men were charged with aggravated first-degree murder and related charges, including attempted murder and assault on a police officer, tried before separate juries in Brooklyn beginning November 10, 2008. Robert Ellis was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges but convicted of three counts of gun possession, receiving a 15-year sentence. Dexter Bostic was convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges, and sentenced to life without parole. Lee Woods, after a first trial ended in mistrial, was convicted at a second trial in March 2009 of the same charges and also sentenced to life without parole. A related individual pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of hindering prosecution for assisting Woods, receiving probation.

## Aftermath and Legislation Timoshenko was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade and later received the NYPD Medal of Honor, New York State's Police Officer of the Year award, and the James S. Brady Law Enforcement Award. The revelation that the weapons used were illegally trafficked prompted Senate Judiciary Committee questioning of ATF nominee Michael J. Sullivan regarding restrictions on gun-trace data, and led to new New York City penalties for illegal gun possession.

Key facts

Victims
Herman Yan, Russel Timoshenko
Date
2007
Location
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1983-08-18

    Russel Timoshenko is born.

  2. 2007-07-09

    Timoshenko is shot in the face and throat after pulling over a stolen BMW in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; his partner, Officer Herman Yan, is also wounded.

  3. 2007-07-10

    Lee Woods is apprehended at his girlfriend's home in Far Rockaway, Queens, and identifies Dexter Bostic and Robert Ellis as accomplices.

  4. 2007-07-11

    Dexter Bostic is tackled and arrested by a Pennsylvania State Trooper near Interstate 80.

  5. 2007-07-12

    Robert Ellis is located by police dogs near I-80 and, along with Bostic, extradited to New York.

  6. 2007-07-14

    Timoshenko is declared dead at 4:14 p.m. after tests show no brain activity; life support is withdrawn.

  7. 2007-07-27

    Timoshenko is posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade; Herman Yan is promoted to Detective.

  8. 2007-09

    Senator Charles Schumer questions ATF nominee Michael J. Sullivan at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about denial of NYPD's gun-trace data request.

  9. 2008-11-10

    Trial of Bostic, Ellis, and Woods begins in Brooklyn, with separate juries for each defendant.

  10. 2008-12-17

    Robert Ellis is found not guilty of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, but guilty of three gun possession charges.

  11. 2008-12-19

    Dexter Bostic is found guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges.

  12. 2009-01-14

    Robert Ellis is sentenced to 15 years in prison on gun possession charges.

  13. 2009-03-16

    Lee Woods is found guilty at his second trial of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges, and is sentenced to life without parole.

  14. 2008-06-16

    Timoshenko and Yan are posthumously and respectively awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor.

  15. 2009-07-24

    New York Governor David Paterson names Timoshenko and Yan Police Officers of the Year in New York State.

  16. 2009-10-06

    Timoshenko's parents accept the James S. Brady Law Enforcement Award on his behalf.

  17. 2009-11

    Durant Avenue is renamed Detective Russel Timoshenko Way in his honor.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Herman Yan

    VICTIM

    Timoshenko's partner, wounded by gunfire during the same incident; survived due to his ballistic vest.

    citation on file

  • Russel Timoshenko

    VICTIM

    23-year-old NYPD police officer shot during a traffic stop; died five days later of his injuries.

    citation on file

  • Nicole Bostic

    CONVICTED

    Dexter Bostic's sister; pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of hindering prosecution for assisting the suspects' escape, receiving three years probation.

    citation on file

  • Dexter Bostic

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges; sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting Timoshenko.

    citation on file

  • Robert Ellis

    ACQUITTED

    Acquitted of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, but convicted of three gun possession charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

    citation on file

  • Lee Woods

    CONVICTED

    Driver of the stolen BMW; convicted at second trial of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges, sentenced to life without parole.

    citation on file

Places

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City

40.6688, -73.9497

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
NYPD Officer Russel Timoshenko, 23, was shot in the face and throat on July 9, 2007, after pulling over a stolen BMW in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and died five days later. Following a four-day, three-state manhunt, all three occupants of the car were apprehended; two were convicted of murder and the third of weapons possession.
Where did the murder happen?
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City.
Who was convicted?
Nicole Bostic (Dexter Bostic's sister; pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of hindering prosecution for assisting the suspects' escape, receiving three years probation.), Dexter Bostic (Convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges; sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting Timoshenko.), and Lee Woods (Driver of the stolen BMW; convicted at second trial of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and gun possession charges, sentenced to life without parole.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Murder of Russel Timoshenkowikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-05
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — nyc.govnews · nyc.gov · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026

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