Joseph Murphy sentenced in weapons case tied to Hoosock, Jensen killings

Joseph Murphy was sentenced Monday to four months of weekend jail time and five years of probation for illegally possessing a rifle tied to the weapons cache found after the April 14, 2024 ambush that killed Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse police Officer Michael Jensen.

Onondaga County Judge Mary Anne Doherty ordered Murphy to report to the Jamesville Correctional Facility every Friday at 5 p.m. as part of the sentence. If Murphy fails to comply, he could face additional jail time.

The case returned to an Onondaga County courtroom nearly two years after investigators searched the Murphy home at 4945 Darien Drive in Salina and found multiple weapons. The rifle was not the gun used in the killings, but it was a semiautomatic AR-style rifle with an illegal combination of accessories under New York law, including a detachable magazine, pistol grip, collapsible stock and flash suppressor. Murphy was first arrested on felony weapons charges in August 2024 and later pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.

Prosecutors argued Murphy showed a lack of remorse, and a family statement from Jensen’s loved ones was read in court. Paul Jensen, the officer’s father, later told NewsChannel 9 that he did not believe remorse was shown and said that lack of remorse poses a danger to society.

The June 30 hearing drew a law-enforcement presence outside the courtroom. Hoosock and Jensen were killed after officers responded to a traffic incident involving a Honda Civic registered to Christopher Murphy. The New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation found officers saw high-capacity ammunition clips in the car and heard what sounded like a firearm being racked inside the house before the shooting began.

On Dec. 11, 2024, the attorney general report found Christopher Murphy fired an AM-15 semiautomatic rifle manufactured by Anderson Manufacturing from the backyard and then from the street in front of the house. The shootings happened at about 8:48 p.m. and 8:49 p.m. on April 14, 2024, and both officers were transported to Upstate University Hospital, where they were pronounced dead that evening. The report concluded the officers were legally justified in using deadly force and said no criminal charges would be pursued.

The names of Hoosock and Jensen have since been added to the New York State Police Officers Memorial in Albany and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.