Vincent Ling, an officer with the New York Police Department, was presumed dead following a fatal exchange of gunfire with a suspect in 1999. Nearly 20 years later, the retired deputy is alive, and the suspect is in police custody.
"He's very much alive," his uncle, Thomas Ling, said to the New York Daily News. "I saw him last year."
The news site writes Officer Ling was found alive Monday, and the suspect involved in the once-fatal shooting has been living in Jacksonville, Florida.
The shooting occurred in December 1999 when Ling was working undercover. Due to his status, his identity was not revealed at the time of the ambush. However, the deputy was partially disabled when a bullet wedged in Ling's spine.
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Now retired at age 47, it appears Ling is solely interested in living a life of seclusion. Attempts to contact the man from media outlets have all gone unanswered. He spent one month in the hospital recovering from his injuries after the incident.
As for the suspect, the New York Post reports 43-year-old Lester Pearson was arrested in Florida on Friday. Pearson is in police custody in Duval County, Florida, on a $40,000 bond. He will be eventually extradited to New York to stand trial in the case.
When the Post inquired about the New York Police Department's blunder in the decades-long case, a source for the bureau delivered an unexpected response.
"All we can say is, 'Sorry about that," the spokesperson said.
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