Post by coots on Dec 14, 2011 0:01:57 GMT -5
Cop-Killer Suspect Wanted in N.C. For Gun Charges, But Two Brooklyn Judges Let Him Walk
Suspect in Murder of NYPD Hero Managed to Swim Through Criminal Justice System
Lamont Pride, the murder suspect in the fatal shooting of officer Peter Figoski at his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal court.
Before he was charged with killing a New York City police officer, Lamont Pride managed to swim through the criminal justice system with little to get in his way.
In the weeks leading up to Pride’s deadly encounter with Police Officer Peter Figoski, one Brooklyn judge let him walk knowing there was an active warrant for his arrest on shooting charges in North Carolina.
Two weeks later, Pride didn’t show up for court, but a second Brooklyn judge put an arrest warrant on hold to give his lawyer a chance to track him down.
That didn’t happen, and police say Pride shot Figoski early Monday.
On Tuesday City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., head of the Council’s public safety committee demanded an investigation into how the courts handled Pride’s case.
“We need an immediate investigation by the administrative judge to learn what the judge knew that allowed the release of a dangerous criminal back on to the streets,” Vallone said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly declined to comment on the judges’ decisions, but admitted, “Of course, he should not have been out on the streets. He should have ideally been extradited to North Carolina but that didn’t happen.”
Pride, 27, has been arrested repeatedly, both in New York and North Carolina. Records indicate he first showed up in a New York court in 2002 when he was hit with non-felony charges in the Bronx and later Brooklyn.
The records don’t reveal the charges or disposition, but it appears all were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, which means they’d be dropped if he didn’t get into trouble.
Once the charges are dropped, the record is sealed. Spokesmen for the Bronx and Brooklyn district attorneys had no comment.
Pride was then arrested several times in North Carolina, at one point receiving a jail sentence of 13 to 16 months for robbery. He was released in October 2010 after serving less than the maximum.
By August, Greensboro, N.C., cops were looking for him for allegedly shooting a man during a dispute in a parking lot. An arrest warrant was issued.
Pride wound up back in New York, where he was arrested Sept. 22 in Brooklyn on misdemeanor charges of possessing a knife. He was released the next day after pleading guilty.
Around that time, the NYPD contacted Greensboro about the warrant because it appeared to apply to an in-state arrest and wasn’t valid in New York.
A Greensboro police spokeswoman said the warrant was amended soon after, but NYPD officials say that didn’t happen until after Pride was arrested yet again in Brooklyn Nov. 3 on low-level drug possession charges.
At his Nov. 4 arraignment, prosecutor Evan Degrees asked for $2,500 bail, making it clear to Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Laporte that other law enforcement personnel were looking for Pride.
“He has an active bench warrant from North Carolina. He also has a prior New York warrant with a North Carolina record,” Degrees said.
Nevertheless, Laporte released Pride without bail.
Vallone questioned why Laporte didn’t impose bail considering Pride’s record of fleeing North Carolina.
“The release was terribly inappropriate,” Vallone said.
Days later, on Nov. 15, Pride caught another break.
He didn’t show up for court, which would usually mean his release would be revoked and cops would seek his immediate arrest. But Pride’s defense lawyer, Sharon Weintraub-Dashow, asked that the warrant be “stayed” or put on hold.
“I do have contact information for him. I would ask for an opportunity to reach out to him,” she told Judge Shari Ruth Michels.
Michels granted the request. A new prosecutor on the case, Erica Fenstermacher, never mentioned the prior arrest warrant for the shooting in North Carolina.
On Tuesday neither judge would comment. Weintraub-Dashow did not return calls.
David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the court system, said in response to Vallone’s demand for an investigation, “We don’t investigate judges. Judges have discretion when it comes to bail but they don’t have a crystal ball.”
4 other mutts involved in the officer's murder;Michael Valez, Kevin Santos, Aerial Tejada, and Nelson Morales
No they don't, but they should have common sense to see this guy is a career predator-criminal.
Suspect in Murder of NYPD Hero Managed to Swim Through Criminal Justice System
Lamont Pride, the murder suspect in the fatal shooting of officer Peter Figoski at his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal court.
Before he was charged with killing a New York City police officer, Lamont Pride managed to swim through the criminal justice system with little to get in his way.
In the weeks leading up to Pride’s deadly encounter with Police Officer Peter Figoski, one Brooklyn judge let him walk knowing there was an active warrant for his arrest on shooting charges in North Carolina.
Two weeks later, Pride didn’t show up for court, but a second Brooklyn judge put an arrest warrant on hold to give his lawyer a chance to track him down.
That didn’t happen, and police say Pride shot Figoski early Monday.
On Tuesday City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., head of the Council’s public safety committee demanded an investigation into how the courts handled Pride’s case.
“We need an immediate investigation by the administrative judge to learn what the judge knew that allowed the release of a dangerous criminal back on to the streets,” Vallone said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly declined to comment on the judges’ decisions, but admitted, “Of course, he should not have been out on the streets. He should have ideally been extradited to North Carolina but that didn’t happen.”
Pride, 27, has been arrested repeatedly, both in New York and North Carolina. Records indicate he first showed up in a New York court in 2002 when he was hit with non-felony charges in the Bronx and later Brooklyn.
The records don’t reveal the charges or disposition, but it appears all were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, which means they’d be dropped if he didn’t get into trouble.
Once the charges are dropped, the record is sealed. Spokesmen for the Bronx and Brooklyn district attorneys had no comment.
Pride was then arrested several times in North Carolina, at one point receiving a jail sentence of 13 to 16 months for robbery. He was released in October 2010 after serving less than the maximum.
By August, Greensboro, N.C., cops were looking for him for allegedly shooting a man during a dispute in a parking lot. An arrest warrant was issued.
Pride wound up back in New York, where he was arrested Sept. 22 in Brooklyn on misdemeanor charges of possessing a knife. He was released the next day after pleading guilty.
Around that time, the NYPD contacted Greensboro about the warrant because it appeared to apply to an in-state arrest and wasn’t valid in New York.
A Greensboro police spokeswoman said the warrant was amended soon after, but NYPD officials say that didn’t happen until after Pride was arrested yet again in Brooklyn Nov. 3 on low-level drug possession charges.
At his Nov. 4 arraignment, prosecutor Evan Degrees asked for $2,500 bail, making it clear to Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Laporte that other law enforcement personnel were looking for Pride.
“He has an active bench warrant from North Carolina. He also has a prior New York warrant with a North Carolina record,” Degrees said.
Nevertheless, Laporte released Pride without bail.
Vallone questioned why Laporte didn’t impose bail considering Pride’s record of fleeing North Carolina.
“The release was terribly inappropriate,” Vallone said.
Days later, on Nov. 15, Pride caught another break.
He didn’t show up for court, which would usually mean his release would be revoked and cops would seek his immediate arrest. But Pride’s defense lawyer, Sharon Weintraub-Dashow, asked that the warrant be “stayed” or put on hold.
“I do have contact information for him. I would ask for an opportunity to reach out to him,” she told Judge Shari Ruth Michels.
Michels granted the request. A new prosecutor on the case, Erica Fenstermacher, never mentioned the prior arrest warrant for the shooting in North Carolina.
On Tuesday neither judge would comment. Weintraub-Dashow did not return calls.
David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the court system, said in response to Vallone’s demand for an investigation, “We don’t investigate judges. Judges have discretion when it comes to bail but they don’t have a crystal ball.”
4 other mutts involved in the officer's murder;Michael Valez, Kevin Santos, Aerial Tejada, and Nelson Morales
Judges have discretion when it comes to bail but they don’t have a crystal ball.”
No they don't, but they should have common sense to see this guy is a career predator-criminal.
