New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
An appeal was made by a woman for a gun crime that killed a police officer. The woman and her boyfriend drove to New York City to visit some friends. A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said that after the first few nights, the couple settled in at the Hempstead Motor Inn. On the afternoon of Saturday, as the couple drove past a woman’s clothing store, the stated that she like the black dress. They entered the boutique, which is located near the intersection, through the front door. The bathroom of the boutique has a window which looks out onto the rear parking area. The window was covered by wooden slats and glass slats. The woman went into the fitting room to try on some clothes, but his boyfriend wasn’t in sight when she came out. The sales attendant informed the woman that her boyfriend had asked to use the bathroom. The woman went back to the fitting room and when she again came out, her boyfriend was standing by the front window, front door and he had picked out a blouse for her to try on. Although she didn’t buy anything she had seen, she did buy the blouse picked out for her by her boyfriend and they left the store without buying anything.
In her statement given after complete Miranda warnings, the woman said that on the afternoon of the gun crime incident, she and her boyfriend went into Manhattan, where he purchased an ankle holster for his gun; that she remained outside the store while her boyfriend bought it, and she wasn’t aware of what he had bought, notwithstanding the fact that she put the bag into her purse. Later, in the early hours of the morning after, the couple decided to get something to eat and the woman changed her clothes. They drove to a bar, when they arrive, her boyfriend told her to stay in the car while he looked for a man. Her boyfriend returned a short time later and they drove around, finally backing into an alleyway and turning out the lights. When the woman asked what he was doing, he allegedly replied not to worry.
The woman stayed in the car to watch for the cops while her boyfriend broke into the back window of the clothing boutique.
After entering the boutique, the man started throwing stuff out the window and yelled to put the stuff in the car. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said the woman was putting the clothes which had been thrown out of the window into the trunk when she saw a light go on across the street. While her boyfriend went back into the store, she noticed a pair of headlights in a gas station across the street. The woman left the car and hid behind some trash cans in the alleyway. A police car pulled into the alleyway and a police officer shone a flashlight at her. She then got up and walked over to the police officer, who asked her what she was doing there. She replied that she was looking for her cat. The police then asked for some identification and she presented an address book, but her name was not in it. Before the police officer arrived, the woman had placed, in neat and orderly fashion, ladies’ blouses, pants suits, ladies’ coats, an adding machine, and a typewriter in the trunk. According to the woman, while she was being questioned, her boyfriend yelled to her to run; she thereafter heard a shot. The officers immediately ran around to the front of the store, with her following behind them, and in the ensuing confusion, she ran away.
The record further makes it clear that what had happened was that the burglary had been interrupted by the police officer who observed a Cadillac in the alleyway behind the row of stores. As the officer pulled into the alleyway, he saw the Cadillac move a little bit. He used his flashlight, but saw no one in the car. A Nassau County Drug Possession Lawyer said he did see an open window in the back of the boutique, and requested assistance. At that point a bystander informed the officer that he saw or heard someone banging at the front door of the dress shop. The officer told the bystander to go across the street and yell if he saw anyone run out of the front of the store. At about that time, the officer and his partner spotted the woman behind the Cadillac and near the trash cans in the driveway. She came forward out of the shadows. The officer also observed the open window and a garment lying underneath it. Also at about that time, the officer who was killed pulled up to the front of the store in a police ambulance answering his partner officer’s call for assistance.
During that time, the bystander observed the woman’s boyfriend leave the store and saw the police officer approach him. The woman and her boyfriend’s accounts differ slightly. The bystander observed the police officer place his hand on the man’s shoulder but did not see a gun in the officer’s hands. Suddenly the man turned, faced the officer and shot him. The officer dropped to the ground and the man ran. The other bystander testified that the shooting occurred as the officer attempted to push the man up against the front wall.
Both officers heard a shot and a groan. Both officers ran to the front of the store and the woman fled. An officer who had just arrived gave chase but lost her. The shot officer was taken to the hospital, where he remained until he died.
The woman was arrested in a motel. The police wanted to know the identity and whereabouts of her male accomplice. A Queens Drug Possession Lawyer said the woman said that they had been forced at gunpoint to do the burglary by an unknown White male. She indicated that she would talk without an attorney being present. The woman then repeated the story she had given the arresting officers to the effect that she and her boyfriend had been forced to commit the burglary. The detective replied that the woman was lying; that he had witnesses to show otherwise and that she should tell the truth. The woman then gave the detective an oral statement. She now claimed that she had not known that her boyfriend was armed and that he forced her to participate in the burglary by slapping her. Her oral statement was reduced to writing and signed by her.
While being questioned, the woman identified certain articles recovered at the crime scene, to wit, a bent screwdriver, gloves and a can containing mace, as belonging to her boyfriend. She also admitted that she, too, had possessed mace.
The woman contends that a reversal in the conviction should be made and that the court made a mistake in refusing to charge the jury. The court claimed that they found no error in its main charge to adopt the specific requests to charge. The woman willingly and voluntarily involved herself, and fully participated in a criminal act and by doing that, she necessarily accepted all the consequences of the felony murder committed either during the course of the burglary or during the man’s immediate flight from the crime scene.
A Nassau County Possession of a Weapon Attorney can help you when you are wrongly charged of possessing a harmful weapon. Stephen Bilkis and Associates can also provide you a Nassau County Arrest Lawyer if you have been wrongfully arrested due to weapon possession.