Joe Mamma
10-17-08, 11:20
There are a lot of interesting things about this story. I think one of the sad things is that the officer got hits on both bad guys, but died after getting shot once.
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New York Times
October 16, 2008
Defense Blames Officer for Shootout That Killed Him
By JOHN ELIGON
When Steven Armento and Lillo Brancato Jr. tried to get into a Bronx home in search of prescription drugs three years ago, they had no way of knowing that the man who confronted them was an off-duty police officer, the lawyer for Mr. Armento said as his trial began on Wednesday.
In fact, the actions of the officer, Daniel Enchautegui, prompted the shootout that led to his own death, the lawyer, William Flack, said, drawing grumbles in a courtroom filled with police officers and relatives of Officer Enchautegui (pronounced EN-cha-tay-gee).
“What you’re going to discover is that the officer with good intentions, his reactions caused his death,” Mr. Flack said in his opening statement in the trial, held in State Supreme Court in the Bronx.
Mr. Armento, 51, faces 10 charges, including the intentional murder of a police officer. Mr. Brancato, 31, who appeared in episodes of “The Sopranos” and in films including “A Bronx Tale,” is also charged with murder. His trial is scheduled to begin after Mr. Armento’s. Both men were wounded in the shootout.
Theresa Gottlieb, the prosecutor, said in her opening statement before Justice Martin Marcus that, after a wild night of drugs, strippers and alcohol, Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato went to the home on Arnow Place in Pelham Bay early on the morning of Dec. 10, 2005, in search of more drugs.
The men had been to the home many times before to get pills from the man who lived there, Ms. Gottlieb said, but this time was different. The home’s owner had died and the doors were locked, she said. So they broke a window to get in, and that awoke Officer Enchautegui, who lived next door, she said.
The officer called 911 — he could be heard speaking very calmly on a recording of the call, which was played in court on Wednesday — and, in plain clothes and with gun in hand, went to investigate, Ms. Gottlieb said.
“He does what we hope to think every police officer would do,” she said. “He goes out and he gets involved.”
He confronted the men in the alley next to his house, shouting: “Don’t move! Don’t move!” Ms. Gottlieb said. “The defendants didn’t adhere to that. They moved.”
Officer Enchautegui shot Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato many times, but was killed by a bullet to the chest, Ms. Gottlieb said.
Ms. Gottlieb painted contrasting portraits of the men involved: Officer Enchautegui had worked a 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift the night before he was killed, while Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato were at a strip club.
“Their night was not quite as noble,” she said.
But Mr. Flack said that what his client did before the shooting was irrelevant. What was crucial, Mr. Flack said, was that Officer Enchautegui was not easily identifiable as a police officer.
On the recording of the 911 call, Officer Enchautegui could be heard saying: “Be advised, I’m in plain clothes, black coat. I am armed, too.”
Mr. Flack said the call suggested that the officer knew he could be mistaken for a civilian with a gun.
“What you’re going to learn from the evidence in this case is that the deceased had one bullet in the heart,” Mr. Flack said. “My client was shot at least six times. Lillo Brancato was also shot. They weren’t even standing next to each other. You’re going to have to determine who started firing their weapon, who fired first.”
Mr. Flack also told the jury that a member of the Police Department scheduled to testify would “lie to you,” drawing an objection from Ms. Gottlieb and loud sighs from the gallery.
A group of police officers standing outside the courtroom applauded as Officer Enchautegui’s sister, Yolanda Rosa, walked in, tears streaming down her face. Ms. Gottlieb put her arm around Ms. Rosa, who was the first witness to testify, providing some personal information about her brother.
If convicted, Mr. Armento could be sentenced to life in prison.
Outside the courtroom, Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, expressed outrage at the defense’s attempt to put part of the blame on Officer. Enchautegui.
“He deserves a defense, but they’re not entitled to make fiction into fact,” he said. “I’ve never been so insulted in a courtroom by that animal’s defense.”
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Link to story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/nyregion/16bronx.html?ref=nyregion
Joe Mamma
* * * * *
New York Times
October 16, 2008
Defense Blames Officer for Shootout That Killed Him
By JOHN ELIGON
When Steven Armento and Lillo Brancato Jr. tried to get into a Bronx home in search of prescription drugs three years ago, they had no way of knowing that the man who confronted them was an off-duty police officer, the lawyer for Mr. Armento said as his trial began on Wednesday.
In fact, the actions of the officer, Daniel Enchautegui, prompted the shootout that led to his own death, the lawyer, William Flack, said, drawing grumbles in a courtroom filled with police officers and relatives of Officer Enchautegui (pronounced EN-cha-tay-gee).
“What you’re going to discover is that the officer with good intentions, his reactions caused his death,” Mr. Flack said in his opening statement in the trial, held in State Supreme Court in the Bronx.
Mr. Armento, 51, faces 10 charges, including the intentional murder of a police officer. Mr. Brancato, 31, who appeared in episodes of “The Sopranos” and in films including “A Bronx Tale,” is also charged with murder. His trial is scheduled to begin after Mr. Armento’s. Both men were wounded in the shootout.
Theresa Gottlieb, the prosecutor, said in her opening statement before Justice Martin Marcus that, after a wild night of drugs, strippers and alcohol, Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato went to the home on Arnow Place in Pelham Bay early on the morning of Dec. 10, 2005, in search of more drugs.
The men had been to the home many times before to get pills from the man who lived there, Ms. Gottlieb said, but this time was different. The home’s owner had died and the doors were locked, she said. So they broke a window to get in, and that awoke Officer Enchautegui, who lived next door, she said.
The officer called 911 — he could be heard speaking very calmly on a recording of the call, which was played in court on Wednesday — and, in plain clothes and with gun in hand, went to investigate, Ms. Gottlieb said.
“He does what we hope to think every police officer would do,” she said. “He goes out and he gets involved.”
He confronted the men in the alley next to his house, shouting: “Don’t move! Don’t move!” Ms. Gottlieb said. “The defendants didn’t adhere to that. They moved.”
Officer Enchautegui shot Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato many times, but was killed by a bullet to the chest, Ms. Gottlieb said.
Ms. Gottlieb painted contrasting portraits of the men involved: Officer Enchautegui had worked a 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift the night before he was killed, while Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato were at a strip club.
“Their night was not quite as noble,” she said.
But Mr. Flack said that what his client did before the shooting was irrelevant. What was crucial, Mr. Flack said, was that Officer Enchautegui was not easily identifiable as a police officer.
On the recording of the 911 call, Officer Enchautegui could be heard saying: “Be advised, I’m in plain clothes, black coat. I am armed, too.”
Mr. Flack said the call suggested that the officer knew he could be mistaken for a civilian with a gun.
“What you’re going to learn from the evidence in this case is that the deceased had one bullet in the heart,” Mr. Flack said. “My client was shot at least six times. Lillo Brancato was also shot. They weren’t even standing next to each other. You’re going to have to determine who started firing their weapon, who fired first.”
Mr. Flack also told the jury that a member of the Police Department scheduled to testify would “lie to you,” drawing an objection from Ms. Gottlieb and loud sighs from the gallery.
A group of police officers standing outside the courtroom applauded as Officer Enchautegui’s sister, Yolanda Rosa, walked in, tears streaming down her face. Ms. Gottlieb put her arm around Ms. Rosa, who was the first witness to testify, providing some personal information about her brother.
If convicted, Mr. Armento could be sentenced to life in prison.
Outside the courtroom, Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, expressed outrage at the defense’s attempt to put part of the blame on Officer. Enchautegui.
“He deserves a defense, but they’re not entitled to make fiction into fact,” he said. “I’ve never been so insulted in a courtroom by that animal’s defense.”
* * * * *
Link to story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/nyregion/16bronx.html?ref=nyregion
Joe Mamma