Post by nycco on Dec 20, 2008 2:04:51 GMT -5
GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS
DEXTER BOSTIC CONVICTED OF MURDER IN TIMOSHENKO TRIAL
By ALEX GINSBERG
Dexter Bostic
Last updated: 8:54 pm
December 19, 2008
Posted: 6:35 pm
December 19, 2008
A Brooklyn jury slammed the door today on the ex-con gunman who shot rookie cop Russel Timoshenko, convicting him on all counts and ensuring he'll spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole.
A standing-room-only courtroom packed with Timoshenko's loved ones and NYPD colleagues squeezed their fists and fought back tears as the jury forewoman announced the guilty verdicts for aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and three counts of weapons possession.
Dexter Bostic, 36, who pumped two .45-caliber slugs into Timoshenko's face following a July 9, 2007, traffic stop, had no reaction.
As the beefy cop killer stood so that court officers could attach leg irons and a cuffing belt, he mouthed, "I know" to his mother, Louise.
Timoshenko's mother, Tatyana, showed little emotion at first, instead staring intently at Bostic as he was taken from the courtroom.
She broke into tears as those around her began squeezing hands and patting shoulders.
The jubilation in the secondfloor courtroom could not have been more different than the stunned, funereal atmosphere of the same room less than 48 hours earlier, when a separate jury acquitted co-defendant Robert Ellis of all but the weapons counts.
"We got killed before," said Detective Peter Margraf, who headed the investigation. "We got heartbroken last time. This was big for us."
The spirits of the cops and Timoshenko's family had been further dampened earlier in the day when Justice Plummer Lott sent home the jury considering the fate of the third defendant, Lee Woods, after a juror reported heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
If she is unable to continue Monday, Lott would have little choice but to declare a mistrial.
Bostic's jury of eight women and four men deliberated 14 hours over two days before reaching the verdict.
Police union president Patrick Lynch praised the panel. "They should be proud of themselves, because now they have stopped this animal from going on the streets and killing someone else's son or daughter," he said.
"The shame is, Russel still does not come home this evening."
Timoshenko was mortally wounded and his partner, Herman Yan, injured, when the two cops pulled over a stolen BMW SUV nearly a year and a half ago in Crown Heights.
Prosecutors charged that Bostic opened fire on Timoshenko from the front passenger seat, while Ellis unloaded on Yan from the back seat behind the driver, Woods.
Bostic's DNA was on the .45-caliber Llama handgun that matched the bullets that killed Timoshenko, and his fingerprint was on the passenger side door.
Bostic's lawyer, Edward Wilford, said his client was surprised by the jury's verdict.
"His mood is disappointed," said Wilford. "It's no easy prospect to think about spending the rest of your life in jail."
DEXTER BOSTIC CONVICTED OF MURDER IN TIMOSHENKO TRIAL
By ALEX GINSBERG
Dexter Bostic
Last updated: 8:54 pm
December 19, 2008
Posted: 6:35 pm
December 19, 2008
A Brooklyn jury slammed the door today on the ex-con gunman who shot rookie cop Russel Timoshenko, convicting him on all counts and ensuring he'll spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole.
A standing-room-only courtroom packed with Timoshenko's loved ones and NYPD colleagues squeezed their fists and fought back tears as the jury forewoman announced the guilty verdicts for aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and three counts of weapons possession.
Dexter Bostic, 36, who pumped two .45-caliber slugs into Timoshenko's face following a July 9, 2007, traffic stop, had no reaction.
As the beefy cop killer stood so that court officers could attach leg irons and a cuffing belt, he mouthed, "I know" to his mother, Louise.
Timoshenko's mother, Tatyana, showed little emotion at first, instead staring intently at Bostic as he was taken from the courtroom.
She broke into tears as those around her began squeezing hands and patting shoulders.
The jubilation in the secondfloor courtroom could not have been more different than the stunned, funereal atmosphere of the same room less than 48 hours earlier, when a separate jury acquitted co-defendant Robert Ellis of all but the weapons counts.
"We got killed before," said Detective Peter Margraf, who headed the investigation. "We got heartbroken last time. This was big for us."
The spirits of the cops and Timoshenko's family had been further dampened earlier in the day when Justice Plummer Lott sent home the jury considering the fate of the third defendant, Lee Woods, after a juror reported heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
If she is unable to continue Monday, Lott would have little choice but to declare a mistrial.
Bostic's jury of eight women and four men deliberated 14 hours over two days before reaching the verdict.
Police union president Patrick Lynch praised the panel. "They should be proud of themselves, because now they have stopped this animal from going on the streets and killing someone else's son or daughter," he said.
"The shame is, Russel still does not come home this evening."
Timoshenko was mortally wounded and his partner, Herman Yan, injured, when the two cops pulled over a stolen BMW SUV nearly a year and a half ago in Crown Heights.
Prosecutors charged that Bostic opened fire on Timoshenko from the front passenger seat, while Ellis unloaded on Yan from the back seat behind the driver, Woods.
Bostic's DNA was on the .45-caliber Llama handgun that matched the bullets that killed Timoshenko, and his fingerprint was on the passenger side door.
Bostic's lawyer, Edward Wilford, said his client was surprised by the jury's verdict.
"His mood is disappointed," said Wilford. "It's no easy prospect to think about spending the rest of your life in jail."
