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The alleged accomplice of the man accused of shooting two cops after robbing a Bronx bodega had nothing to do with the crime, his lawyer said after a hearing Monday.
Joshua Kemp’s attorney, Michael Raskin, said his client “is feeling terrible” about the officers being shot and that it wasn’t his fault.
“We’re going to be contesting his involvement in this matter,” Raskin said after a brief pretrial hearing.
Raskin tried to distance his 28-year-old client from alleged triggerman Jason Polanco, 24.
“They are not family,” Raskin said. “I don’t believe they are well acquainted. There may be no relationship whatsoever.”
Kemp, who was charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and larceny, plans to plead not guilty, Raskin said. He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Polanco is facing a long list of charges, including attempted murder, robbery, assault and possession of a firearm. He also plans to plead not guilty, his attorney Joel Peister said.
“This is not a street kid,” Peister said. “This is a kid with no criminal record.”
Polanco was denied bail.
The two men allegedly robbed the PN Deli at E. 180th St. and Webster Ave. on Jan. 5 in the borough’s Fordham section, officials said. Polanco then got into a gunfight with five plainclothes officers who responded to the crime, prosecutors charge.
