The husband of the high-ranking Mount Vernon police official accused of being her gangbanger’s son getaway driver has surrendered to face charges for his role in the Bronx attempted gang hit, police said Thursday.
James Lackard is charged with attempted murder and conspiracy for the June 29 shooting. His son, Chase Lackard, 20, allegedly opened fire on a rival gang behind the Bronx Hall of Justice just after appearing in that court for an unrelated prior gun arrest. No one was hit.
The son fled in his family’s van with his father and the accused getaway driver, his mother Jennifer Lackard, 49.
Jennifer Lackard (pictured), Mount Vernon’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, and her son, Chase Lackard, were arrested Tuesday. (MountVernonNY.gov)
Mother and son were arrested Tuesday morning at the family’s Soundview apartment. Jennifer was fired from her job as deputy commissioner for public safety for the Mount Vernon Police Department within hours of her arrest.
Text messages detailed in court papers show the coordination between Chase, a member of the Slutty Gang, and his parents, all three of whom rode together to the courthouse and then fled together in their van.
“Be directly in Fromt (sic) When I Leave,” Chase allegedly texted his mother.
“You can’t just sit directly outside,” his mother texted chase, according to court papers. “It has to be timed right.”
The son would up allegedly firing from inside the van while his parents were inside with him, according to prosecutors.
Chase Lackard appears in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court Wednesday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Chase was ordered held without bail when he was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court Wednesday. His mother was held in jail overnight before being released Thursday on $75,000 bail, officials said.
James was in North Carolina when his family was arrested. He returned to the city and surrendered, police said. His bail was set at $150,000 when he was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court Thursday.
James spent a decade in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin in North Carolina and was freed in February 2020, records show.