NYC murder suspect apprehended in Putnam County

Thursday, July 25, 2019
Maj. Dwight Simmons

What started as a simple traffic stop Tuesday afternoon quickly got a lot more interesting for a Putnam County sheriff’s deputy.

Maj. Dwight Simmons was on patrol at 12:15 p.m. when he stopped a Nissan Quest with New York plates at Exit 37 on Interstate 70.

Simmons had observed the vehicle traveling in the passing lane at 60 mph in a posted 70 mph zone with multiple vehicles stacked up behind it.

Chen Sheng Mao

After speaking briefly with the driver, 43-year-old Chen Sheng Mao of Brooklyn, N.Y., Simmons returned to his patrol vehicle to complete computer inquiries on the license and vehicle information.

Upon entering the information into the computer, Simmons immediately learned that the vehicle and Chen were wanted in connection with a homicide that occurred in New York City on Monday evening.

Simmons was able to safely lure Chen out of his van and immediately placed him in custody without incident.

Assisted by Trooper Yan Dravigne of the Indiana State Police Post, Simmons transported Chen to the Putnam County Jail, while the vehicle was transported to the county impound lot.

Detectives from New York Police Department Homicide Division arrived on a flight and met with Det. Pat McFadden, Det. Donnie Pettit and Simmons to discuss the case.

The NYPD detectives said on Monday evening, witnesses allegedly saw Chen stabbing a 40-year-old female on 46th Street in Brooklyn before fleeing to his home.

The woman died a short time later of stab wounds. Chen was last seen fleeing his house with blood all over him and his clothing.

Investigators also learned that the Nissan van was spotted by a license plate reader at 1 a.m., crossing the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.

NYPD officers entered the license plate into the National Crime Information Center system, which is how Simmons learned of the crime after making the stop.

On Thursday, Chen appeared before Judge Denny Bridge in Putnam Superior Court for an extradition hearing.

Through a court-appointed interpreter, he was read the waiver of extradition. Chen speaks Mandarin with limited English language skills.

Bridges explained that Chen could choose to sign the waiver of extradition and return to New York soon.

Otherwise, Bridges explained, a governor’s bond would have to be obtained and he would be sent back to New York against his will.

“I want to just go with them,” Chen said through the interpreter

Following the hearing, Chen was returned to the custody of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. He will remain at the jail until a fugitive team arrives from NYPD to transport him back to New York.

The van will also return to New York to be processed by crime scene technicians.

According to a New York Daily News report on the crime, the victim “staggered down the front steps of a two-family home ... and collapsed on the sidewalk.” She died a short time later at an area hospital.

Back in New York, Chen will face a second-degree murder charge. The NYPD detectives said in court Thursday the crime is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

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  • Nice job Major!

    -- Posted by Geologist on Thu, Jul 25, 2019, at 5:23 PM
  • Thank you for your savviness. Take care of yourself, Dwight. Good work.

    -- Posted by LJScott on Thu, Jul 25, 2019, at 9:58 PM
  • Good job!

    -- Posted by foxtrotter on Fri, Jul 26, 2019, at 7:21 AM
  • Just curious, where did they find an interpreter who could speak Mandarin Chinese? Was it a professor from DePauw? Thanks.

    -- Posted by donantonio on Fri, Jul 26, 2019, at 12:48 PM
    Response by Jared Jernagan, Assistant Editor, Greencastle Banner-Graphic:
    The county courts utilize a telephone service by which they have access to interpreters adept in many different languages and specific dialects. The court-appointed interpreter was not physically in the court room.
  • *

    Don Antonio -

    I would've guessed someone from the Chinese restaurants.

    Chinese restaurant (in the little plaza with Mexican restaurant) would've been my first guess.

    But then, I am kind of partial to that place... love the food, love the people.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Fri, Jul 26, 2019, at 2:19 PM
  • Why is the charge only 2nd Degree Murder? If this man is guilty of stabbing someone to death, why is it not murder in the first degree? I don't understand this, and I would appreciate an explanation regarding the difference.

    Thanks in advance!

    -- Posted by vincenteunice46 on Fri, Jul 26, 2019, at 3:21 PM
  • *

    Vincent - While homicide statutes vary from state to state both in definition and severity, the generally consensus is that 1st degree murder is pre-meditated (even by sometimes as much as a few hours) while 2nd degree murder is usually a "crime of passion" and reflexive.

    If you kill someone a week after they took your sandwich, that's 1st degree murder.

    If you stab someone to death with a fork b/c they just stole your tater tots from your tray, that's 2nd degree murder.

    The difference also plays out in what the prosecutors think they can win. A 1st degree murder conviction is usually much tougher than a 2nd degree murder conviction. There are multiple reasons for this.

    And finally, remember, that ALL are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Just b/c someone (even newspapers) say that someone has been charged with a crime doesn't mean that they actually committed it, or will be found guilty of it.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Mon, Jul 29, 2019, at 10:26 AM
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