Mark Tyson
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http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/crime/nyc-cops0731,0,4669100.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-crime
New York Newsday
DA Makes It Official: Death Penalty in Cop Shootings
By Daryl Khan
Staff Writer
July 30, 2003, 5:20 PM EDT
When the hearing was over and Ronell Wilson knew for certain that he was facing the death penalty, there was a pregnant silence.
Then, as court officers clanked handcuffs over his wrists and led him away, applause erupted from the police officers, detectives and family members who had gathered to pay witness.
Wilson is charged with six counts of first-degree murder for the March 10 execution style slaying of undercover detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, both fathers assigned to a unit to clean illegal guns off the street.
He was formally served with the district attorney's decision to pursue the death penalty Wednesday in Staten Island Supreme Court.
Richmond County District Attorney William Murphy said in a written press release: "This was, without doubt, one of the most serious and contemplative decisions my long career in law enforcement."
Prosecutors said Wilson shot the detectives from behind with a .44-caliber revolver and dumped their bodies on Hannah Street in Tompkinsville after a botched undercover operation.
Wilson is the 14th defendant to face the death penalty since the punishment was reinstated in 1995. Paris Bullock, 21, and Michael Whiten, 20, are charged with second-degree murder in the case.
Det. Michael Palladino of the Detectives Endowment Association said when police officers are murdered risking their lives to keep the city safe, the district attorney must be prepared to mete out the ultimate punishment.
"If any case deserves the death penalty it's this one," he said.
Wilson remained detached throughout the hearing, wearing a black suit and a blank expression.
A woman in black sobbed. Nemorin's son pointed at the man accused of killing his father. His mother whispered in his ear. When Supreme Court Judge Leonard Rienzi said Wilson would face the death penalty, a gasp could be heard from the corner where his family huddled.
Applause ruptured the silence, then grew more raucous.
While the detectives' family and colleagues cheered the decision, Wilson, 21, ambled past his family. His corner shrieked his name, some leaping out of their seats and waving their arms like he was a rock star.
Rienzi stood up at his bench and shouted at both sides.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is out of hand," he said
Afterwards both the victims' and the suspects' family slipped out of the court without comment.
Fellow police officers milled around, waiting to see Wilson ferried back to jail. Some laughed and joked with their colleagues, some were reflective, and others, like Det. Patrick Toussaint, were angry.
"A life for a life," he said.
At 10:24 a.m., two corrections vans and an unmarked black SUV screeched to halt behind the courthouse. Emergency service officers armed with rifles hopped out, grabbed Wilson and hustled him in to the back of a van.
Three teen girls who attend Wilson's high school screamed: "Ronell, we love you, baby." And then they giggled as the caravan, their lights silently flashing, sped away.
===============================
What I want to know is: how did this scumbag get the drop on TWO officers?
New York Newsday
DA Makes It Official: Death Penalty in Cop Shootings
By Daryl Khan
Staff Writer
July 30, 2003, 5:20 PM EDT
When the hearing was over and Ronell Wilson knew for certain that he was facing the death penalty, there was a pregnant silence.
Then, as court officers clanked handcuffs over his wrists and led him away, applause erupted from the police officers, detectives and family members who had gathered to pay witness.
Wilson is charged with six counts of first-degree murder for the March 10 execution style slaying of undercover detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, both fathers assigned to a unit to clean illegal guns off the street.
He was formally served with the district attorney's decision to pursue the death penalty Wednesday in Staten Island Supreme Court.
Richmond County District Attorney William Murphy said in a written press release: "This was, without doubt, one of the most serious and contemplative decisions my long career in law enforcement."
Prosecutors said Wilson shot the detectives from behind with a .44-caliber revolver and dumped their bodies on Hannah Street in Tompkinsville after a botched undercover operation.
Wilson is the 14th defendant to face the death penalty since the punishment was reinstated in 1995. Paris Bullock, 21, and Michael Whiten, 20, are charged with second-degree murder in the case.
Det. Michael Palladino of the Detectives Endowment Association said when police officers are murdered risking their lives to keep the city safe, the district attorney must be prepared to mete out the ultimate punishment.
"If any case deserves the death penalty it's this one," he said.
Wilson remained detached throughout the hearing, wearing a black suit and a blank expression.
A woman in black sobbed. Nemorin's son pointed at the man accused of killing his father. His mother whispered in his ear. When Supreme Court Judge Leonard Rienzi said Wilson would face the death penalty, a gasp could be heard from the corner where his family huddled.
Applause ruptured the silence, then grew more raucous.
While the detectives' family and colleagues cheered the decision, Wilson, 21, ambled past his family. His corner shrieked his name, some leaping out of their seats and waving their arms like he was a rock star.
Rienzi stood up at his bench and shouted at both sides.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is out of hand," he said
Afterwards both the victims' and the suspects' family slipped out of the court without comment.
Fellow police officers milled around, waiting to see Wilson ferried back to jail. Some laughed and joked with their colleagues, some were reflective, and others, like Det. Patrick Toussaint, were angry.
"A life for a life," he said.
At 10:24 a.m., two corrections vans and an unmarked black SUV screeched to halt behind the courthouse. Emergency service officers armed with rifles hopped out, grabbed Wilson and hustled him in to the back of a van.
Three teen girls who attend Wilson's high school screamed: "Ronell, we love you, baby." And then they giggled as the caravan, their lights silently flashing, sped away.
===============================
What I want to know is: how did this scumbag get the drop on TWO officers?
