NOTE: For anyone reading these posts, if you have any questions you'd like me to answer in a post, or if you'd like me to clarify something about the trial, just email me at: rladuca@uticaod.com THE VERDICT: MOLINA-CIRINO GUILTY OF KILLING LINDSEY
10:10 p.m. Moments after Wesley Molina-Cirino was found guilty of aggravated murder in the shooting death of Utica police Officer Thomas Lindsey, state police Investigator Samuel Serrano had this to say:
"We got him," Serrano said as he patted police officers on the back.
The jury wants to stay
9:18 p.m. It appears that the jury wants to continue to deliberate tonight.
Some police officers could be heard saying, "Thank God." No doubt they are anxious for some closure at this point. 9:11 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty has brought the jury into the courtroom, and he will allow them to say how they want to proceed after deliberating for 12 hours already.
"If they want to, they can continue deliberations this evening, and we'll stay until there's a verdict," Donalty said.
Still waiting
8:39 p.m. After an hour-long break for dinner, the jury is still deliberating, and still no word on how long they will continue tonight.
NOTE: For a more complete re-cap of Sammy Rivera's testimony in the form of a timeline, scroll down below to WHAT SAMMY RIVERA SAID.
Again, another note: Jury hears definition of 'reasonable doubt'
6:34 p.m. The jury has just sent out their 10th note.
This time they ask, "Is there a court-appointed definition as to what 'reasonable doubt' is?" Judge Barry Donalty read.
Regarding that defintion, the jury also asked: "Can you please read it in the jury room?"
"Which, of course, I'm not going to comply with," Donalty said.
Donalty is now reading the legal definition of 'reasonable doubt" as the jury sits in the courtroom.
In previous trials, a jury's request to have the definition of "reasonable doubt" repeated is usually followed shortly after by a verdict, one way or another. Still more jury notes
5:52 p.m. The jury has sent out yet again two more notes after deliberating for nearly 6 hours.
In the first note, jurors asked to see any written statements that Sammy Rivera gave to police. But Judge Barry Donalty told them that none of his statements were entered into evidence.
They also asked to see photographs of "Alacran" and Mario Sierra. But there is no photo of Sierra, since he testified at trial, and no photo of Alacran was not submitted into evidence.
In the second note, the jury asked to see all supporting depositions related to the case, which only included Wesley Molina-Cirino's April 17 police statement and his waiver of Miranda rights.
Donalty said the jury will receive their dinner in about 90 minutes. In the meantime, several jurors have asked to be taken outside for a smoking break.
What Sammy Rivera said ... again
5:38 p.m. Here is the sequence of events that Sammy Rivera said unfolded the night Officer Tom Lindsey was killed April 12, 2007.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman encouraged jurors during her closing statement Wednesday to have Rivera's testimony read back to them, and that they did.
* Around 4:30 p.m. April 12, Rivera left his Seymour Avenue house with the brother-in-law of his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz. They both went to a relative's house on Oneida Street.
* Rivera returned home around 6:30 p.m. and ate dinner.
* At 7 p.m., Rivera took Diaz and her daughter to a church on John Street. Rivera also had Diaz's 2-year-old son, Luis, in the back seat.
* Rivera then drove to James Street to visit a man named "Spider," who wasn't home. Only Spider's step-son and two daughters were there.
* After a short while, Rivera left Spider's and went to "Alacran's" house on Howard Avenue, where he stayed for about 15 to 20 minutes.
* Rivera left Alacran's and went to the Cornhill Market a block away on Neilson and Arthur streets, where Rivera said he used to work. That's where Rivera first met Wesley Molina-Cirino several years ago.
* Rivera bought a 40-ounce beer for himself, and a bag of Dorito's and juice for 2-year-old Luis. That's when Rivera also talked to his friend, Chubby, and offered him a ride home in West Utica.
* While Rivera was at the Cornhill Market with Chubby, Alacran came into the store as well and they stayed for about 20 to 25 minutes. But because it was raining out, Rivera gave Alacran a ride home. Chubby told Rivera to come back for him around 8:30 p.m.
* As Rivera and Luis were walking out of the Cornhill Market around 7:40 p.m., however, Rivera said he saw Wesley Molina-Cirino hiding in an empty parking lot. Molina-Cirino then jumped into a black Monte Carlo, where a man named "Indio" was also sitting with at least another person.
* After dropping Alacran off at his Howard Avenue home, Rivera got a call from someone named "Gotti" asking to buy drugs from Rivera.
* Rivera drove to Seymour Avenue, where he bought drugs from someone named "Jay." Jay gave Rivera an 8-ball of crack cocaine, and Rivera said he would return to pay him.
* Rivera returned to Spider's house on James Street, where he met Gotti for the drug transaction around 8:10 or 8:15 p.m. While 2-year-old Luis played with Spider's daughters, Rivera sold the cocaine to Gotti in the bathroom for $140.
* Rivera went back to Seymour Avenue to meet "Jay" and pay him $120 for the 8-ball. Rivera kept the leftover money for himself and kept some of the cocaine for his own "personal use."
* Around 8:30 p.m., Rivera went to pick up Chubby at the Cornhill Market on Neilson and Arthur streets. Chubby was outside waiting for Rivera and he got in the front passenger seat of Rivera's car.
* It took about 10 minutes for Rivera to take Chubby to his apartment above a store at Lenox Avenue and Court Street in West Utica. They arrived around 9 p.m., and Rivera bought a Red Bull energy drink at the store.
* Rivera returned to Spider's house on James Street around 8:40 p.m. for the third time to see if Spider was home, but Spider wasn't. Rivera then bought two $5 bags of marijuana for his own "personal use." Luis went inside Spider's house with him, Rivera said.
* After leaving Spider's house about 10-15 minutes later, Rivera drove down James Street before turning right on Neilson Street. Rivera was heading to a church on John Street to pick up his girlfriend between 9 to 9:15 p.m.
* Rivera crossed Arthur Street and then rolled through a stop sign at the intersection of Neilson and Eagle streets. And that's when Officer Tom Lindsey pulled him over on the 1100 block of Neilson St.
* The defense debated how long it took Rivera to drive six blocks from James Street to the 1100 block of Neilson Street. Wittman suggested it might take 2 to 3 minutes, but Rivera said it was more like 5 to 10 minutes. Even though 2-year-old Luis had been awake during the previous stop at Spider's, the child fell "dead asleep" within the time it took to drive six blocks.
* When Lindsey approached Rivera's car, Rivera told Lindsey he didn't have a driver's license. Rivera also falsely identified himself to Lindsey as his brother, Ishmael Rivera. Rivera said he was worried about an outstanding seatbelt ticket he received a few weeks ago.
* Rivera gave Lindsey the insurance and registration for the red Neon, and Lindsey returned to his patrol vehicle.
* Two other police vehicles drove by, but Lindsey told them everything was OK and waved them on.
* After the two police vehicle passed, Rivera said he saw the same black Monte Carlo drive passed him and Lindsey that he saw Molina-Cirino jump into earlier at the Cornhill Market. The car stopped at the corner of Neilson Street, and Molina-Cirino got out, Rivera said. But Rivera didn't see where Molina-Cirino went after that.
* During cross-examination, the defense attorney questioned why Rivera never mentioned seeing Molina-Cirino in this black car during any other court proceedings. She also wondered exactly when Rivera first told this to police, because this sighting was never mentioned in police statement. Investigators later confirmed that Rivera told them about the car sometime in May.
* While Lindsey was in his patrol vehicle, Rivera said he noticed 2-year-old Luis was "very crooked" in his baby seat while he was sound asleep. So Rivera got out to re-position Luis.
* While Rivera was out of his car, Lindsey said, "Mr. Rivera, I'll be right with you." But Lindsey never left his vehicle. Rivera then returned to the driver's seat. During cross-examination, the defense wondered if Lindsey was so polite in telling Rivera to get back in his vehicle. The defense recalled a prior traffic stop with Mario Sierra in 2006 when Lindsey pulled his gun out and yelled "Freeze" after Sierra got out of the car. * While Lindsey was still in his vehicle, Rivera tried calling the cell phone of Michelle Agosto, who was at church with Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz. Rivera wanted to tell Diaz that he had been pulled over.
* When Lindsey finally returned to Rivera's vehicle, he told Rivera that the name "Ishmael Rivera" had an arrest warrant for an open-container violation from 2005. Rivera said he forget that ticket had been issued, even though Rivera falsely used his brother's name during that past incident as well.
* Lindsey told Rivera that if someone could pick him up, he could pay the $100 open container fine and would not have to be jailed. Rivera tried calling Michelle Agosto's cell phone again, but she never answered. However, Agosto's voicemail message recorded parts of the conversation between Lindsey and Rivera before he was shot.
* Because Rivera couldn't get a hold of his girlfriend, Lindsey told Rivera he would follow him to the John Street church. When Rivera thanked him, Lindsey said, "I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for the baby."
* Then Lindsey flinched and began to reach for his weapon when several gunshots rang out, Rivera said. Lindsey fell and Rivera heard him hit the side of his car. When Rivera looked up, "I had a big gun pointed at my face."
* Rivera couldn't tell what kind of gun it was, but he noticed the "bony, skinny, long" fingers holding the weapon. Rivera then looked into the eyes of Molina-Cirino, or "Flaco," he said. However, Rivera previously told police that he saw the shooter from the lips down.
* Rivera looked eye-to-eye at the shooter for about 1 to 2 minutes, he said. Then Molina-Cirino glanced at the child in Rivera's backseat and Rivera drove off. Rivera did not see where the shooter ran, but he was wearing a white-hoodie.
* When Rivera arrived at the John Street church, he ran inside while hysterically crying and told his girlfriend Noemi Diaz that "somebody" shot a police officer in front of him. Rivera did not give her Molina-Cirino's name at that time because he did not want to get her involved in what happened, he said.
* Diaz then screamed at him and ran outside to check on her baby, Luis. While they were outside, a police officer stopped and told them both to get on the ground. Rivera shouted that Diaz didn't have anything to do with what happened, and he told the officer that "somebody in a white hoodie" shot the officer.
* Although Rivera wasn't worried about the drugs in his pockets when Lindsey stopped him, he still tried to pass the drugs to his girlfriend because he already feared being charged with murder and he did not want to face any more charges.
* After Rivera was taken into custody, he was punched and choked by investigators as if he shot Lindsey. Because Rivera did not trust police, and because he feared for himself and his family, Rivera did not name Molina-Cirino as Lindsey's shooter until nine days later.
* Rivera said he had been friends with Molina-Cirino for several years when he agreed to allow Molina-Cirino to live with him and his girlfriend on Seymour Avenue in early 2007.
* About two weeks later, Rivera asked Molina-Cirino to move out because Rivera wanted more privacy with his girlfriend and family.
* A week after that in February, Molina-Cirino started rumors about Rivera's girlfriend, so Rivera confronted him at Spider's house on James Street. Rivera told him, "This is my woman now. You can't be putting her down." Molina-Cirino then called Rivera a "dead man walking."
* From that point on, their friendship "went down the drain," Rivera said. They would still say hello to each other on the street in passing, and Rivera gave Molina-Cirino a ride to 1309 Neilson St. two days before Lindsey's death.
* Rivera noted that Molina-Cirino treated children very well. "He liked kids, I'm not going to deny that," Rivera said.
* Rivera also noted that while was at Alacran's house with Molina-Cirino in January 2007, he heard Molina-Cirino talk about always being harassed by Lindsey and other police. Molina-Cirino then said, "One of these (expletive) is going to get it one day," Rivera testified.
* Although Spider wasn't called as a witness in this trial, Rivera described Spider as a heavy-set man with slicked-back hair. The defense is arguing that several witnesses described seeing a heavy-set men with bushy, slicked-backed hair driving the red Neon from the shooting scene. Back to deliberating
5:29 p.m. Jurors spent more than 2 hours listening to a read-back of Sammy Rivera's testimony, and Judge Barry Donalty just told them to continue their deliberations.
A dinner menu will then be sent to the jury at about 6:15 p.m. to order food, Donalty said.
It is unclear how long jurors will be allowed to deliberate tonight.
Check back shortly, and I will post a re-cap of Sammy Rivera's testimony, with a focus on the timeline of what Rivera did the night Officer Tom Lindsey was killed.
Another note: A read-back of Sammy Rivera's testimony
3:24 p.m. The jury has just sent out yet another note, and it appears that jurors want to hear all of Sammy Rivera's testimony read back to them.
Rivera is the person who was driving the red Neon stopped by Officer Tom Lindsey before he was shot.
Unable to reach verdict, judge asks jury to continue deliberating
2:16 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty has asked the jury to continue deliberating with a view toward reaching a verdict regarding Wesley Molina-Cirino's guilt or innocence.
"I'm not asking any juror to violate his or her own conscience," Donalty explained. "Start with a fresh slate. Do not feel bound by how you felt before ... have the courage to be flexible."
Then Donalty added, "I ask you to apply common sense and good judgment" to harmonize their views, and avoid adhering to a prior conclusion "out of pride or stubbornness."
After the jury left the courtroom to resume deliberations, several Utica police officers held their head in apparent exasperation.
Officer Tom Lindsey's girlfriend, Lisa Karpowich, also lowered her head into her hands as she sat alongside her parents and several of Lindsey's family members. 2:09 p.m. The jury has just told Judge Barry Donalty that they cannot decide whether Wesley Molina-Cirino is guilty or not guilty at this point.
"We have X number of people who think he is guilty, and X number of people who think he is not guilty due to reasonable doubt," Donalty read from the jury's note.
Donalty then added, "The numbers are not important."
Donalty continued to read from the jury's note: "We have not come to a complete consensus."
2:05 p.m. The jurors have sent out another note after spending several hours viewing the video-recorded June 6 interview between Wesley Molina-Cirino and state police Investigator Samuel Serrano. Jury asks to see entire June 6 interview
9:59 a.m. After sending out another note, the jury has clarified that they would like to watch the entire 6 hour video-recorded interrogation between Wesley Molina-Cirino and state police Investigator Samuel Serrano.
The jury would also like to watch the video in the deliberation room, and prosecutors said it would take about 2 minutes to set up a projector for them.
It appears that some people in the courtroom expect the jury to be out for some time, so they are leaving the courtroom with the intent of coming back later.
However, it is unclear whether the jury plans to actually watch the entire video, or to only view as much as they need to.
So, stay tuned.
Jury continues deliberations
9:44 a.m. The jury has sent out three notes of request to Judge Barry Donalty:
* To see all pictures that are in evidence.
* To listen to Officer Tom Lindsey's radio transmissions during the April 12 traffic stop on Neilson Street minutes before he was shot.
* To see a hard-copy transcript of the Spanish-to-English video-recorded June 6 interview between Molina-Cirino and state police Investigator Samuel Serrano.
The jury cannot see the transcript, however, because it is not in evidence, Donalty said.
So Donalty suggested that the jury could watch specific portions of the recorded interview, or they could watch the entire 5 hour video if they wanted.
Molina-Cirino's attorney, Rebecca Wittman, wondered if the jury could watch the video in the privacy of their deliberation room, instead of in the courtroom.
"I'm not certain what they want," Donalty said. "I'll let them clear that up."
Donalty brought the jury out so they could listen to the brief compilation of Lindsey's radio transmissions.
Donalty then asked the jury to specify what portion of the video they'd like to watch again.
9:17 a.m. The jury has resumed their second day of deliberations at 9 a.m. this morning in the trial of Wesley Molina-Cirino.
Jurors deliberated for about 3 hours Wednesday before calling it a day.
Judge Barry Donalty has a full calendar this morning, so it may be some time before we hear anything from the jury.
The jury is considering whether Molina-Cirino, 24, of Utica, is guilty of aggravated murder in the April 12, 2007, shooting death of Utica police Officer Thomas Lindsey.
NOTE: For anyone reading these posts, if you have any questions you'd like me to answer in a post, or if you'd like me to clarify something about the trial, just email me at: rladuca@uticaod.com Jury to resume deliberations Thursday
5:12 p.m The jury has entered the courtroom, and Judge Barry Donalty read a note that the jury has decided -- although not unanimously -- to go home for the night and resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.
"It's been a long day, so I can certainly understand that," Donalty said.
Deliberations lasted for about 4 hours today.
Donalty also just emphasized the need for the jury to avoid any outside discussion or news publicity related to the trial in the meantime. 5:08 p.m The jury is about to come out, but it is unclear whether there is a verdict.
Jury resumes deliberations
4:16 p.m. After viewing Wesley Molina-Cirino's June 6 reenactment of how Officer Tom Lindsey was shot, the jury went back to continue their deliberations.
Judge Barry Donalty said he would allow them to deliberate until 5 p.m., and resume deliberations tomorrow if they have not yet reached a verdict at that time. But, he also said he would allow them to continue deliberating after 5 p.m. if they felt the need to.
Jury asks for read-back of testimony 3:30 p.m. The jury is now hearing a read-back of testimony by Jose "Mojon" Cirino, 22, of Puerto Rico, as he was questioned by prosecutors.
Jose Cirino is a distant relative of Wesley Molina-Cirino, also known as "Flaco."
Jose Cirino is the person Molina-Cirino claims shot Officer Tom Lindsey. During the read-back, questioning focused on the timeline of everything Jose Cirino did the night of Lindsey's shooting. Jose "Mojon" Cirino's timeline
Jose "Mojon" Cirino was taken to a Syracuse airport around 5:30 p.m. by his friend "Pucho" in order to catch a 7:30 p.m. flight to Puerto Rico. But because the flight was actually leaving JFK Airport in New York City, Jose Cirino returned to Utica.
As the sun was setting, Jose Cirino stopped at his uncle "Alacran's" house to call his mother to reschedule his flight.
The sun was still setting as Jose Cirino then walked to 1309 Neilson St., two blocks from where Officer Lindsey was shot around 9:22 p.m.
When Jose Cirino arrived at 1309 Neilson St., he said Wanda Ortiz was there, along with her sons Julio and Aurelio "Nene" Pizarro, Molina-Cirino and a man named "Puritto."
Jose Cirino began playing PlayStation video games with Nene and Purrito, he said.
Jose Cirino also admitted that he had been smoking marijuana that day.
At some point during the night, Molina-Cirino came into 1309 Neilson St. and told everyone that a police officer had been shot, Jose Cirino recalled. But he did not remember what Molina-Cirino's demeanor was like at that time.
Jose Cirino went outside and came back in, then he walked to a nearby store himself to buy a cigar blunt to smoke marijuana. As he was walking, Jose Cirino showed police his Puerto Rican ID, and they allowed him to pass.
Jose Cirino met up with his friends, Adriana "La Badusca" Meteo and "Puritto," and they went to smoke marijuana, he said.
Jose Cirino did not remember seeing Molina-Cirino at the house at that time. Jose Cirino doesn't recall where he himself slept that night, but possibly at 1309 Neilson St.
Several days after Lindsey's April 12 death, "La Badusca" took Jose Cirino to the airport and he flew to Puerto Rico.
Shortly after that, Utica police traveled to Puerto Rico to talk with Jose Cirino about Lindsey's death. They then asked Jose Cirino to return to the United States at some point for further discussion, he said.
When cross-examined by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Jose Cirino said he doesn't remember telling police that he played video games with Molina-Cirino for a few hours at 1309 Neilson St. the night of Lindsey's shooting.
Jose Cirino also said he believes Sammy Rivera stopped by 1309 Neilson St. the night Lindsey was shot.
Jose Cirino said he went outside and talked to Rivera for a short time, while also waving at the child sitting in Rivera's red Neon.
Jose Cirino believes "Nene," "Puritto," and Molina-Cirino were also with him outside while he was talking with Rivera for several minutes.
However, Jose Cirino did not recall what time Rivera had stopped by, but it was several hours after Jose Cirino had returned from the Syracuse airport.
Jose Cirino also said he was not in the car with Rivera when he left.
Jose Cirino also does not remember seeing Indio at all that day, but he described Indio as dark skinned, short and a little skinnier than Jose Cirino.
Read-back of Aurelio "Nene" Pizarro's testimony
Pizarro, 20, lives with his mother, Wanda Ortiz, at 1309 Neilson St., as well as his brother, Julio, and his father, Josalito.
Pizarro said that Molina-Cirino would occasionally stay at 1309 Neilson St.
On the April 12 night of Lindsey's shooting, Pizarro said he saw Jose "Mojon" Cirino at his house while it was dark out.
Jose Cirino was playing video games with Pizarro and Pizarro's brother, Julio. Pizarro, however, does not recall Molina-Cirino ever playing video games with him.
While Pizarro was playing video games, Molina-Cirino came from the dining room and said there were police outside. Pizarro and Molina-Cirino then looked out the window.
"I asked him what happened," Pizarro said. Molina-Cirino then replied, "He thinks a cop got shot."
Pizarro said "La Badusca" then arrived while police were outside. Molina-Cirino was still in the house at that time, but then he left at some point.
Jose Cirino, however, did spend the night at 1309 Neilson St., Pizarro said.
When cross-examined by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Pizarro said he remembers Jose Cirino just showing up at 1309 Neilson St. later that night.
Pizarro also recalled seeing Sammy Rivera at the house as it was getting dark, but he added, "I don't know if it was that day or another day."
Rivera had the child in his car, and Molina-Cirino and "Puritto" were also outside talking with Rivera.
Pizarro recalled telling police the night after Lindsey was shot that he thought Molina-Cirino had been wearing what he always wore: A black jacket with skeletons on the back -- not a white hoodie that many witnesses described the shooter wearing.
When Molina-Cirino first told Pizarro that police were outside, Molina-Cirino also said, "He's not going outside. There's police out there."
Pizarro said he did not recall seeing Jose Cirino or Molina-Cirino go outside later that night.
But Pizarro did see Molina-Cirino at 1309 Neilson St. about 2 or 3 times after that day, until he was arrested April 17 on a drug warrant.
3:22 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty has just read two notes of request sent out by the jury:
* Jurors would like to again hear the testimony of Aurelius Pizarro, or "Nene," and Jose "Mojon" Cirino, who is the person Wesley Molina-Cirino claims shot Officer Tom Lindsey.
The court stenographer is prepared to re-read testimony for both Nene and Jose Cirino.
* Jurors would also like to view Wesley Molina-Cirino's reenactment of how Lindsey was shot during the video-recorded June 6 interview with state police Investigator Samuel Serrano.
In that video, Serrano is standing as if he were Lindsey conducting a traffic stop with a vehicle. Molina-Cirino then rushes Serrano from a diagonal angle and demonstrates shooting Serrano in the right side of his head. 3:11 p.m. After more than 2 hours, the jury is still continuing to deliberate their verdict.
However, police officers and Officer Tom Lindsey's family have now entered the courtroom for a read-back of some witness testimony.
It is unclear, at this point, which witness's testimony they want to hear again.
1:20 p.m. The jury has now started their deliberations to decide whether 24-year-old Wesley Molina-Cirino is guilty of aggravated murder in the shooting death of Utica police Officer Thomas Lindsey.
A verdict could now come as early as this afternoon.
Judge charges jury
1:04 p.m. As Judge Barry Donalty explains the law to jurors, he said the "convincing quality" of a witness' testimony is what should control their judgment, not the number of witnesses that are called.
Donalty went on to address the "inconsistencies" that jurors may have perceived during the six days of trial testimony.
"Were the inconsistencies significant, or were they minor inconsistencies one would expect?" Donalty said.
Donalty also said that any witness who was promised anything in exchange for their testimony, such as jail inmates who overheard Wesley Molina-Cirino talk about Officer Tom Lindsey's death, are still allowed to testify at trial.
However, Donalty said, jurors should "carefully scrutinize" their testimony in light of any benefit or promise the witness had received.
Donalty then explained the charge of "aggravated murder" -- the only charge jurors must decide whether Molina-Cirino is guilty of.
According to the law, aggravated murder applies when somebody intentionally causes the death of a police officer engaged in the course of performing his official duties as a police officer, and that the defendant knew or reasonably should have known the victim was an officer at the time."
12:51 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty is now discussing the law that applies to the trial of Wesley Molina-Cirino.
He will also explain the charge of aggravated murder that the jury has to consider in deciding whether Molina-Cirino is guilty or not guilty.
Now the prosecution's last word
12:35 p.m. Prosecutor Laurie Lisi ended her 2-hour closing by mentioning the death of her 89-year-old mother, during which Lisi's family was by her side as she passed away.
But in Officer Tom Lindsey's case, his family and friends did not have that luxury to say goodbye, Lisi said.
"Officer Thomas Lindsey died on the cold roadway of Neilson Street," Lisi said. "Officer Thomas Lindsey died alone."
Lindsey's family was robbed of the opportunity to say farewell and to tell Lindsey what a great human being he had become, Lisi said.
And, Lisi said, "They never got to tell him what a well-respected cop he had become."
Lindsey's girlfriend, Lisa Karpowich, brought her hands up to her face and lowered her head in tears.
Several police officers began to bite their lip as Lisi continued her soft-spoken closing.
Approximately 9:22 p.m. marked Lindsey's end-of-watch, Lisi said.
"He was killed by a coward who snuck up behind him in the dark of night," Lisi said. "He was killed while doing what he loved best: Being a cop, serving the community, protecting the community."
Having said that, Lisi acknowledged that typical trial closings allow the prosecution to make a final statement to the jury before they begin to deliberate.
But, Lisi said, "We choose to let the defendant have the last word."
Prosecutors then played one final clip of Molina-Cirino's June 6 interview with state police Investigator Samuel Serrano.
Displayed on a large TV screen, Serrano can be heard asking Molina-Cirino if he ever asked for forgiveness after watching Lindsey get shot.
Molina-Cirino then answered: "I did it, I did it that day." 12:23 p.m. As Wesley Molina-Cirino continued to talk with investigators on June 6, he changed his story in a big way for the first time, prosecutor Laurie Lisi said.
Molina-Cirino went from initially saying he heard that Jose Cirino shot Lindsey, to then admitting that he actually saw the shooting, Lisi said.
After Molina-Cirino began by saying he watched Lindsey get shot from about two blocks away on Neilson Street, but then he ended by saying he was standing behind Lindsey's patrol vehicle, Lisi said.
"Yes, I was there," Molina-Cirino is overheard saying in the video-recorded June 6 interview as it's played for the jury one more time.
Molina-Cirino placed himself in the position of the shooter, behind Lindsey's patrol vehicle.
Lisi is not required to prove a motive in this case, she said, but there is some indication as to why Lindsey was killed.
Molina-Cirino was familiar with Lindsey, Lisi said. Lindsey had arrested Molina-Cirino on two occasions, he told investigators, and Molina-Cirino also knew that Lindsey would go to a specific barber shop on James Street.
Molina-Cirino at times voiced his own frustration toward police, Lisi said.
"The police are always coming around when I had money and drugs in my pockets," Molina-Cirino said, according to Lisi.
Then Molina-Cirino's frustration with police turned more threatening, Lisi said.
"One of these days, one of those (expletive) is going to make me shoot them," Sammy Rivera recalled Molina-Cirino telling him during the trial, Lisi said.
"Perhaps the defendant was growing tired of dealing with aggressive cops out doing their job," Lisi said.
"Perhaps he was growing tired of seeing car 57 every time he turned around," Lisi said in referring to Lindsey's patrol vehicle. 12:13 p.m. One jail inmate, Jerry Scott, found his "golden egg" in the talkative Wesley Molina-Cirino as a way to get a deal from prosecutors.
So as Molina-Cirino talked about the gun Jose Cirino used to kill police, Scott took note and told investigators about his comments.
Scott testified that Molina-Cirino told him Lindsey was killed because he did something to Jose Cirino and Molina-Cirino, Lisi recalled.
Molina-Cirino then told Scott, "They'll never be able to prove anything."
But then Molina-Cirino himself reached out to prosecutors in order to get a lesser punishment for his own unrelated drug charge. "I have the information you guys need to find the gun that killed the cop in Utica, Molina-Cirino told investigators, Lisi said.
Suddenly, Molina-Cirino became the prime suspect in Lindsey's death.
"You're the shooter of Officer Lindsey, and that's why you know where the gun is, and that's why you know what happened," Lisi shouted as she spoke on behalf of investigators.
Although Rivera's May 14 and June 6 interviews contained plenty of inconsistencies, Lisi said, "Never once does he suggest to investigators that anyone else was behind the wheel of that vehicle other than Sammy Rivera." 11:57 a.m. Prosecutor Laurie Lisi has now recalled witnesses saying that Wesley Molina-Cirino came into 1309 Neilson St. and report that an officer had been shot.
"Wesley Molina is the Paul Revere of Neilson Street," the person who told everyone about Officer Tom Lindsey's death before even the police knew, Lisi said.
"How did he have that information so quickly?" Lisi asks. "Because he was there? Because he was the shooter?"
Lisi went on to address Jose Cirino, the person Molina-Cirino said killed Lindsey, as well as Indio, the person who Molina-Cirino said was also involved in the shooting.
Regarding Jose Cirino and his flight to Puerto Rico, Lisi said it was ridiculous that Jose Cirino would get a gun and decide to shoot a police officer if he was already planning to leave the country.
Molina-Cirino repeatedly told investigators that Indio initially told him all about Lindsey's shooting, Lisi noted.
"Indio said this, and Indio said that, and I ran into him here, and I ran into him there, and he told me this, and he told me that," Lisi said, speaking for Molina-Cirino.
But, Lisi said, "What other evidence points to Indio?"
Molina-Cirino also denied telling anyone about the shooting, yet Lisi recalled several jail inmates who testified last week that Molina-Cirino openly discussed killing police and Lindsey.
One inmate said that Molina-Cirino planned to kill Sammy Rivera first. But when Molina-Cirino saw a child in the back seat of Rivera's car, he decided to "shoot that (expletive) instead," referring to Lindsey. "That shows you the type of the individual that he is," by using a vulgarity to refer to Lindsey, Lisi said. "Complete and utter disrespect for the law." Maybe Molina-Cirino was going to kill Rivera, Lisi said. Rivera and Molina-Cirino had a previous falling out over Rivera's girlfriend, and Rivera believes Molina-Cirino had been stalking him the night Lindsey was killed, Lisi said.
As more jail inmates testified, including James Bell, it became apparent that Molina-Cirino "can't keep his mouth shut."
"He hates police so much he's got to talk about it," Lisi said. Molina-Cirino went on to say, "Where I come from, they kill cops all the time."
11:46 a.m. Prosecutor Laurie Lisi recalled a gunshot expert who described last week a graphic of where the shooter was likely positioned at the time Officer Tom Lindsey was shot.
The graphic is consist with how witnesses said the shooting happened, and it is consistent with how Wesley Molina-Cirino ultimately demonstrated for investigators exactly how Lindsey was shot.
Rivera also described how Lindsey's shot body collapsed and fell against the red Neon as Rivera drove away -- which is consistent with how blood stains appeared on the side of Rivera's car, Lisi said.
"That is just stuff that Sammy Rivera cannot make up," Lisi said. "He's not that smart."
But what Rivera said matches what has been proven forensically about this case, Lisi said.
Lisi turns her attention to the black car with a red spoiler that Rivera said he saw Molina-Cirino get into and out of before Lindsey was killed. The defense emphasizes that Rivera didn't tell police about it right away, nor did he testify to it in any prior court proceeding.
"It is not a revelation, it is not made up," Lisi said.
The defense also suggests there was a conspiracy to kill Lindsey that may have included Sammy Rivera, Jose "Mojon" Cirino and Indio, Lisi said. But Lisi dismissed that theory.
Lindsey's death "was a crime of opportunity, it was a crime of chance," Lisi said. "There's no evidence there was a conspiracy, that there was a plan among those three individuals to kill a police officer that night."
Jose Cirino did not kill Lindsey, Lisi told jurors
11:34 a.m. Because Sammy Rivera distrusted police, and because he feared for himself and his family, Rivera refused to tell police who shot Officer Tom Lindsey, prosecutor Laurie Lisi said.
"He said his family came first," Lisi said of Rivera. "Sammy Rivera knew that Wesley Molina knew he was an eyewitness."
But then, after being separated from his family for days and emotionally drained, Rivera decides to give police Molina-Cirino's name, Lisi said.
Lisi went on to describe other witnesses that corroborate what Rivera said happened. Two teenagers who live on Neilson Street said they saw a tall skinny person running from the scene of the shooting that night.
And forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica told jurors that Lindsey was shot on the right side of his head at very close range, within 2 to 3 feet, with a high caliber weapon, Lisi recalled.
However, Sammy Rivera could not recall the gun he saw in the shooter's hands.
"But we did learn about the gun from somebody else ... 'Flaco'," Lisi said, referring to Molina-Cirino. During a May 14 interview, Molina-Cirino told investigators that Jose Cirino shot Lindsey, and the gun was a .44 caliber revolver.
That interview would then begin the unraveling that led police to conclude Molina-Cirino was the shooter, since he had too much knowledge about the details of how Lindsey was actually shot. 11:22 a.m. When the red Neon was taken into custody on John Street at 9:28 p.m., police saw Officer Tom Lindsey's blood on the side of the car.
So police believed that whoever shot Lindsey was inside that vehicle, Lisi said.
"They... were... angry," Lisi said.
Rivera saw their anger, and that's why he tossed the drugs while police took him into custody.
"Big deal," Lisi said. "Not the first time someone's done that."
But police were indeed upset, Lisi said, and she recalled Rivera's testimony that he was man-handled and punched by police. The only blood that appeared on Rivera's face was when his earring got ripped out, she said.
None of Lindsey's blood was on Rivera or in the red Neon, Lisi noted.
Lisi went on to reference the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in comparison to April 12, 2007. Patriotism and unity came
"Good came from the killing of Officer Lindsey, as hard as that may be to believe," Lisi said. It brought police agencies together, and it brought the community together. There are video cameras in patrol cars, and there are two man patrols, she noted.
However, some "bad" did come out of Lindsey's death, just as the 9/11 attacks resulted in wrongful behavior on the part of law enforcement.
"Angry, grief stricken police officers ... treated Sammy Rivera as if he was Tom Lindsey's assassination, and that doesn't paint a pretty picture of law enforcement," Lisi said.
Lisi didn't condone the angry officers' actions, but she added, "Do I, as a prosecutor, understand it? Absolutely."
11:16 a.m. The first 911 call of Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting came in at 9:24 p.m., Lisi said.
But 911 also received a hang-up call at 9:23 a.m., which came from Sammy Rivera's cell phone, prosecutor Laurie Lisi said. However, Rivera doesn't remember calling 911.
"He had just witnessed a horrific, horrific event -- someone getting murdered right in front of him," Lisi said.
Sammy Rivera then drove away and hysterically ran into the John Street church and told his girlfriend that "somebody" shot a police officer, not "they," as the defense has noted.
When police arrived on John Street moments later, Rivera told both officers that a man in a white hoodie shot Lindsey.
"Again, ladies and gentleman, Sammy Rivera's story remains the same," Lisi said. "It has always been a guy in a white hoodie who was responsible for the assassination of Officer Tom Lindsey."
11:04 a.m. Prosecutor Laurie Lisi continues to highlight testimony that corroborates Sammy Rivera's testimony about being the driver.
Lindsey, Lisi said, "was an aggressive cop, but he was also a fair cop."
So he allowed Rivera the opportunity to call his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, to pick up the car, Lisi explained. Rivera tried calling Diaz's friend several times while the two women were at church, and the voices of Rivera and Lindsey are heard on a voicemail message in the friend's cell phone.
Lisi suggests jurors listen to the voicemail message at 9:21 p.m.
"It's short, but it's sweet," Lisi said. "Listen to their voices. They are relaxed. There is no tension. There is no animosity. There is no problem ... The situation is still Code 4."
Rivera's voice also indicates that Rivera is driving the red Neon, Lisi said.
"There's nobody else in that red Neon besides Sammy Rivera and that sleeping baby," Lisi said.
If that message hadn't been cut off, Lisi said, jurors would then have been able to hear Lindsey give Rivera a break and say that he will follow Rivera to the church, right before Lindsey was shot.
"At that very moment, the situation is no longer Code 4," Lisi said. "It is at that moment that Sammy Rivera, the driver of the red Neon, observes Officer Lindsey flinch ... It is at that moment that Sammy Rivera hears, boom boom boom. Three gunshots, and immediately, Officer Lindsey drops."
Rivera then sees Wesley Molina-Cirino in a white hoodie pointing a gun in his face, Lisi said.
10:51 a.m. Prosecutor Laurie Lisi is now highlighting the fact that Officer Tom Lindsey had the registration of Rivera's vehicle, and that indicates that Rivera was the driver who gave that to Lindsey.
But when Lindsey discovered that Ismael Rivera -- the false name Sammy Rivera gave Lindsey -- had an arrest warrant, Lindsey wasn't about to let an unlicensed operator with a warrant drive away.
"There is no doubt, ladies and gentleman, that Sammy Rivera is the driver of the red Neon," Lisi said.
Lisi then pointed out that Wesley Molina-Cirino never once told police that Sammy Rivera wasn't the driver of the red vehicle -- a point that the defense never addressed during their closing.
Lisi also addressed the fact that two police officers could not later identify Rivera as the driver of the vehicle Lindsey stopped on Neilson Street.
"They saw that (Lindsey) had the situation under control," as they passed and Lindsey waved them on, Lisi said. "Because he was relaxed, they became relaxed. And because they became relaxed, they didn't take note of the details."
"A driver and a baby -- Code 4," meaning everything is OK, Lisi said.
As a result, the two officers did not get a good look of the driver and therefore they could not later identify Sammy Rivera.
Lisi briefly dismissed two defense witnesses who on Tuesday claimed that the driver was a larger heavy-set man, different in appearance from Sammy Rivera. Lisi simply questioned how any witnesses would have been able to see the driver below his shoulders.
10:34 a.m. The prosecution begins their closing argument to jurors by playing a compilation of radio and 911 transmissions in the minutes surrounding Officer Tom Lindsey's April 12 death.
"Nine minutes, ladies and gentleman, and in the blink of an eye, the world of every Utica police officer was indeed changed forever," Assistant District Attorney Laurie Lisi said.
"He was ambushed by a coward in a white hoodies," Lisi said. "Tom Lindsey was assassinated."
Now, Lisi said, the only question jurors have to consider: "Who killed Officer Thomas Lindsey?"
Lisi noted that the defense focused primarily on the testimony of Sammy Rivera in their closing arguments because he is the only eye witness to Lindsey's shooting.
"That makes him a pretty darn important witness," Lisi said. "He is our most crucial witness."
But, Lisi reminded jurors, "The case does not rise and it does not fall on the testimony of Sammy Rivera alone."
And Lisi noted that Rivera's version of events has remained consistent from the moment Lindsey was killed to the time he testified in court.
From the time Rivera drops off a man named "Chubby" around 9 p.m., "Are there really any lagging time periods?" Lisi asks.
Then shortly before 9:16 p.m., Rivera is driving from James Street toward the 800 block of John Street to pick up his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, when he rolls through a stop sign at Eagle and Neilson streets.
Rivera says he went through the stop sign because he his trouble stopping and going with his red Neon, Lisi noted. Defense closing argument
10:22 a.m. Rebecca Wittman just concluded her closing argument by saying the jury cannot fill the hole in the prosecution's case with "speculation, sympathy and pity."
That may be enough to convict Molina-Cirino in the arena of public opinion, she said, but not in the court of law.
"Please don't make Wesley Molina-Cirino the sacrificial lamb ... to avenge the execution of Officer Lindsey," Wittman said.
There's a hole in the middle of the prosecution's story, Wittman said, "And without Sammy Rivera's testimony, there is no story."
"Sammy Rivera: Driver, or not?" Wittman asks. "Telling you the truth, the whole truth? Or not?"
She notes that Rivera's jacket was never tested for gun powder residue, and that Rivera had no blood on his face from Lindsey's shooting.
Wittman says that police based their entire investigation on the assumption that Rivera was telling the truth.
"They want to believe Sammy Rivera. Why?" Wittman asked. "Because their friend, their colleague, their fellow officer, is dead."
It was apparent that the police were very emotionally involved in this case, Wittman said, and, "Obviously that tells you something about their objectivity."
"Your job is not to solve this case," Wittman tells the jury. "Your job is to decide this case based on the evidence you have."
Then she asked, "What do you think: Planned execution? Or random act of violence?"
"If you are left to wonder what actually happened, isn't that reasonable doubt?" Wittman said.
Wittman then noted that in order for Molina-Cirino to kill Lindsey, "He had to arrange to be there, summoned there, or arrive there by chance ... If it's a plan, how does he or anyone know to be there without Sammy Rivera's assistance?"
And after Lindsey is shot, Molina-Cirino doesn't leave Utica and head to Puerto Rico, like Jose Cirino, Wittman said. Instead, Molina-Cirino goes back up Neilson Street and then hangs around Utica.
"Does that sound like the actions of a man with a guilty consience?" Wittman asks. "He's walking around the streets of Cornhill, not Loiza, Puerto Rico."
10:03 a.m. After Sammy Rivera left the scene of Officer Lindsey's shooting, and stopped at the church on John Street, Rivera said he told his girlfriend Noemi Diaz that somebody shot a police officer.
Rivera said it was a dark man in a white hoodie, Diaz testified last week, Wittman noted.
Rebecca Wittman expressed skepticism that Rivera would not have told Diaz that their mutual acquaintance, Molina-Cirino -- who they also knew as "Flaco" -- shot the officer. Instead, Rivera just said "somebody" because he didn't want her to get involved with what happened, Wittman said.
At the church, Rivera also tried to pass the drugs in his pockets to his girlfriend after police arrived, even though he wasn't worried about them during Lindsey's stop, Wittman said.
Rivera explained this by saying, "They were already going to charge me with a murder, so let me get rid of the drugs ... Less charges for me."
"Apparently Sammy Rivera thinks very well under pressure," Wittman said.
When Rivera was questioned by police later that night, he told police that the shooter was a man in a white hoodie. But when he finally identified Molina-Cirino as Lindsey's killer nine days later, Rivera said he saw the person from the upper lip down -- not that he looked the shooter in the eyes, Wittman noted.
During this interview, however, Rivera never mentions seeing Molina-Cirino -- the alleged shooter -- getting out of a car on Neilson Street shortly before the shooting.
Rivera doesn't tell investigators that fact until later in May, she said.
9:54 a.m. Sammy Rivera had testified that he saw long, bony skinny fingers holding the gun that just shot Officer Tom Lindsey and which was now pointed in Rivera's face.
"You have the barrel of this (gun) a foot away from your face, and you have the wherewithal to note the length of the fingers, even if you see them?" Rebecca Wittman asks.
Then Rivera said he looked Molina-Cirino in the eyes and see them shift toward the back car seat, where the 2-year-old child was sitting, Wittman said. At that point, Molina-Cirino decides not to shoot Rivera, the man who witnesses the execution of a police officer, she said.
"I can't shoot him, there's a sleeping kid in the back seat," Wittman said as if she were speaking for Molina-Cirino. "Once again, Sammy Rivera can't lie: 'Wesley likes little kids.'" 9:36 a.m. While Sammy Rivera was stopped by Officer Tom Lindsey, Rivera then "does the unthinkable," Rebecca Wittman said.
Rivera gets out of the car "because the baby needs to be fixed in the car seat," Wittman said.
"The 1100 block of Neilson Street is like downtown Baghdad," Wittman said.
"Ladies and gentleman, come on," Wittman said. "Common sense and experience tells us you don't do this. You might try it, but what would happen?"
Wittman recalled testimony from Mario Sierra, in which he described what happened during a similar traffic stop with Lindsey in 2006.
When Sierra got out of the car, Lindsey pulled out his weapon and yelled, "Freeze," Sierra testified. Lindsey then told him to get back into the car.
"Doesn't that make a little more sense?" Wittman said.
But in Rivera's case, when Rivera stepped out of the car and opened the side door to fix the baby seat, Lindsey said, "I'll be right with you, Mr. Rivera. Just give me a quick moment." Lindsey stayed in his vehicle, and Rivera returned to the driver's seat, he said.
Wittman went on to recall two Utica police officer whose description of the driver in the red Neon stopped by Lindsey did not match Rivera's appearance. One officer saw Rivera later that night at the police station, and he said Rivera was not the driver.
"Sammy Rivera is the only person who seems to think that Sammy Rivera is the driver," Wittman said.
The officers describe the Neon's driver as a larger man with black curly hair, which was not short and combed back.
"He's got company," Wittman said of Rivera, implying that somebody else was in Rivera's car when Lindsey stopped him.
Rivera had drugs on him, he said, and he immediately told Lindsey that he didn't have a license. However, Wittman notes that Rivera claims Lindsey was going to allow him to pay his $100 fine for an open container arrest warrant, instead of ticketing him.
Lindsey said, according to Rivera, "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for the baby." 9:26 a.m. For several minutes, Wittman reads a portion of Rivera's testimony questioning. In that testimony, Rivera denies that he ever stopped at 1309 Neilson St. the night of Lindsey's shooting.
However, several of the prosecution's witnesses, Aurelio Pizarro and Jose "Mojon" Cirino, said they saw Rivera there that night.
Rivera is insistent he wasn't there, Wittman notes. Instead, Rivera said the last time he was at 1309 Neilson St. was when he gave Molina-Cirino a ride there two days earlier.
Then after leaving the residence of a man named "Spider" for the third and last time around 9 p.m. April 12, Rivera said it took about 8 minutes at most to travel several blocks to Neilson Street, Wittman noted.
Within that period, however, Rivera said the 2-year-old child in his car had fallen "dead asleep." 9:07 a.m. Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman starts off saying: "It has been a long trial, with very few light moments ... But your job is very far from over, and your hard work is yet to come."
The key to this trial can be summed up in 2 to 3 pieces of evidence, she said.
Wittman urged the jury to have all of Sammy Rivera's testimony read back to them.
The prosecutors say their case doesn't rise and fall on Rivera, the driver of the red Neon stopped by Lindsey on the 1100 block of Neilson Street.
"But it darn sure depends on the fact that Sammy Rivera is telling the truth," Wittman said, that Sammy Rivera is driving the red Neon and that he's alone in the car with a 2-year-old child.
"If Sammy Rivera is not the driver, then the whole case crumbles," Wittman said.
Wittman also noted that prosecutors will probably focus on the hours of Molina-Cirino's interrogation video with state police Investigator Samuel Serrano on June 6, 2007.
But for everything that Molina-Cirino says in that interview, he doesn't say he shot Lindsey.
"Try as they might, they can't get Wesley to say the magic words: 'I did it. I shot Officer Lindsey'," Wittman said.
Wittman recalls Serrano's comments to Molina-Cirino during the recorded interview that suggests a jury would be more likely to believe Rivera with his child in a car, as opposed to Molina-Cirino, who keeps changing his story.
But, Wittman notes, "That same baby is actually the undoing of Sammy Rivera's lies."
Wittman starts a point-by-point narrative of Rivera's sequence of events the hours before Lindsey's death.
Around 7:40 p.m., Rivera was leaving the Cornhill Market when he saw Molina-Cirino hiding in an empty parking lot before running into a black Monte Carlo with several people inside, including Indio, Wittman said.
Indio is one of the people Molina-Cirino said was involved in Lindsey's shooting.
Rivera said he later saw Molina-Cirino jump out of that same black car at Neilson Street after Rivera's vehicle was stopped by Lindsey. Closing arguments to begin shortly
9:02 a.m. Wesley Molina-Cirino has just entered the courtroom, and he was soon followed by Judge Barry Donalty.
Moments later, the jury is brought out and seated.
Donalty just mentioned to the jury that they're probably in a more pleasant environment today inside the courtroom, as opposed to the dreary rainy weather outside.
8:51 a.m. Jurors are about to hear the final words from both prosecution and defense attorneys in the trial of Wesley Molina-Cirino.
Officer Tom Lindsey's girlfriend, Lisa Karpowich, is sitting in the front row alongside her parents and the parents of slain New Hartford police Officer Joseph Corr, David and Kathy Corr.
Joseph Corr was shot and killed during a jewelry store robbery in New Hartford in February 2006.
Utica police Chief C. Allen Pylman has arrived as well, and gave Corr's mother a hug in passing. Other Utica police officers are also filing in.
Molina-Cirino's defense attorney, Rebecca Wittman, will first address the jurors.
She will then be followed by closing arguments from Assistant District Attorney Laurie Lisi.
Twelve jurors will then begin to deliberate later this morning, and a verdict may come as early as this afternoon.
NOTE: For anyone reading these posts, if you have any questions you'd like me to answer in a post, or if you'd like me to clarify something about the trial, just email me at: rladuca@uticaod.com
No more trial testimony, closing arguments to begin Wednesday
4:40 p.m. Witness testimony has ended in the trial of Wesley Molina-Cirino, and closing arguments will begin Wednesday morning.
A verdict could then come as early as Wednesday.
Defense witnesses describe Neon driver as heavy-set
4:25 p.m. Ronald Goff was also remodeling his daughter's house on at 1120 Neilson St. with Mike Amond when they heard gunshots the night of April 12.
"Sounds like another drug deal gone bad," Goff recalled saying.
Moments later, Goff recalled hearing a car outside "spitting and sputtering," and that caught his attention.
When Goff went outside with Amond, Goff said he saw a "large gentleman" trying to close the door on a red car.
"He was actually too big for the seat to begin with," Goff said.
The driver also appeared to be wearing a gray or dingy white hooded sweatshirt, Goff said. His skin appeared somewhat dark, and he looked Puerto Rican, Goff said.
The driver's hair also appeared to be bushy, but slicked back, Goff said.
When questioned by prosecutor Laurie Lisi, she and Goff debated whether the driver's hear was long, short, or shoulder-length.
After the red Neon drove away, Goff said he saw nicely dressed man tripped as he yelled, "Call 911. Somebody's been shot."
Around that same time, Goff said a vehicle pulled up alongside his daughter's house on Mortimer Street. Four people exited the vehicle and came toward Neilson, but they turned around and went back to their car after someone yelled, "Call 911."
Goff told Lisi that he didn't call 911 because there was no phone in the house at the time. Somebody did have a cell phone, Goff said, but nobody called 911.
Goff said that he, Amond and another person with them the night of April 12 decided they would deny seeing anything after the shooting to avoid any neighborhood trouble. "I said, 'Fine, we'll say we didn't see anything, we were busy working,'" Goff said. "We had power saws going, and we didn't hear anything."
Lisi later confronted Goff on this testimony, and questioned Goff about whether he lied to police the night of Lindsey's shooting.
Goff agreed he told police that he didn't see anything the night Lindsey was shot.
"Then you lied, didn't you?" Lisi asked.
"No," Goff replied.
"'No?'" Lisi said. "No further questions."
Earlier in Goff's testimony, he told Wittman that he could not identify the driver of the red Neon in any pictures that police showed him April 13.
"They showed me all skinny guys that would never even meet the description of the person I had seen in the vehicle," Goff said. 4:01 p.m. The defense's second witness, Mike Amond, 23, of Rome, said he was remodeling his girlfriend's house at 1120 Neilson St. when he heard about 4 or 5 gunshots ring out.
Amond said he then went outside and saw a red Neon with its headlights off driving north on Neilson Street.
"It was trying to go pretty fast," Amond said. "It sounded like it was running on one cylinder." Amond saw the driver of the Neon, and he said, "He looked like he was about to fall out of the car." The driver was a big, heavy-set curly-haired Spanish man wearing a white coat, he said.
The driver was so big he would have fallen out of the car if the seat wasn't back, Amond said.
Amond also saw two men walking to a Malibu car parked around the corner, and he heard them say that a police officer had been shot, he said. One was wearing a blue coat, the other was wearing a white coat.
"I don't know if that makes a difference," Amond told defense attorney Rebecca Wittman.
But Amond did not went to talk to police the night Lindsey was shot until he talked with his probation officer, Amond said. The next day, April 13, Amond gave a statement to police.
When questioned by prosecutor Laurie Lisi, Amond said he told police about the two men he saw walking from the scene.
But the police officer didn't include that observation in Amond's statement, he said, because it wasn't relevant to the red Neon that he saw leave the scene.
Amond also acknowledged that he was on probation for a conspiracy conviction, but he said he "took the fall" for his ex-girlfriend. Defense calls its first witness
3:44 p.m. Assistant District Attorney Laurie Lisi is now questioning Wanda Ortiz about what she saw the night of Officer Tom Lindsey's death.
Ortiz confirmed that her boyfriend, Josalito, was Wesley Molina-Cirino's cousin, and that Molina-Cirino would occasionally eat and sleep at her 1309 Neilson St. residence.
Lisi noted that Ortiz initially told police investigators just days after Lindsey's death that she was asleep sometime between 9:20 and 9:30 p.m.
After Molina-Cirino was arrested, Ortiz's son, Nene, was also arrested. While Nene was in jail, however, Ortiz denied to Lisi that she ever told Nene during a jailhouse phone conversation that she didn't know where Molina-Cirino was that night.
When questioned about Jose Cirino, Ortiz said she knew he was supposed to catch a flight to Puerto Rico the day Lindsey died. But he couldn't leave that night because the flight had to be rescheduled.
"I know he was going that day, because that's when he found out there was a problem with his flight," Ortiz told Lisi.
3:12 p.m. Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman called her first witness, Wanda Ortiz, who lived at 1309 Neilson St. at the time of Officer Tom Lindsey's death last April.
Ortiz lived there with her boyfriend, Jose Cirino, and her two children, Aurelio Pizarro and Julio Gomez, she said.
Ortiz is familiar with Wesley Molina-Cirino as Jose Cirino's cousin, she said.
Ortiz said Jose Cirino, Molina-Cirino, and a man named "Puritto" were at her home when she returned from work around 5 or 6 p.m. April 12.
Ortiz then went up to her room to watch a Spanish soap opera until her daughter called sometime after 9 p.m. or around 10 p.m., she said.
"She asked me if I was aware that there were police officers outside," Ortiz said.
When Ortiz came downstairs, she said Molina-Cirino was playing video games with her children, she said.
Molina-Cirino then went upstairs to look at the police outside through a window while Ortiz went outside, she said.
When asked by Wittman, Ortiz said she did not see either Jose "Mojon" Cirino or "Puritto" inside her house at that point.
Ortiz also said that Molina-Cirino was wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt with a design on it -- not the white hoodie Sammy Rivera claims Molina-Cirino was wearing when he shot Lindsey.
"He was always wearing that sweater," Ortiz said.
Wittman then showed Ortiz a brown sweater, but Ortiz did not know if that was Molina-Cirino's sweater until she smelled it.
"From the odor of it, I can tell he used to wear it," she said.
Prosecution ends its case
3:01 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty asks prosecutors, "Call your next witness."
Assistant District Attorney Laurie Lisi then replies, "The people have no other witnesses, your honor."
Now that the prosecution has wrapped up its case, a man named "Indio" has not yet been called as a witness.
Indio, who is Sammy Rivera's uncle, is the person Molina-Cirino claims told him that Jose Cirino shot Officer Tom Lindsey.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is about to call her first witness, but it is unclear whether Indio will be one of her witnesses.
Defense questions Serrano about video
2:47 p.m. During defense attorney Rebecca Wittman's cross-examination, she plays a clip of the June 6 video-recorded interview in which state police Investigator Samuel Serrano suggests that jurors are more likely to believe Sammy Rivera's story.
Rivera had a baby, Serrano is heard telling Molina-Cirino, and Rivera stuck by his story.
"He didn't change his story," Serrano tells Molina-Cirino. "You changed your story too many times."
So who would a jury believe: Rivera or Molina-Cirino?
"I asked him, 'What do you think?'" Serrano told Wittman.
Then when Serrano tells Molina-Cirino that Sammy Rivera is pointing the finger at Molina-Cirino, the suspect replied, "You're accusing the wrong person. It wasn't Sammy, it was Mojon (Jose Cirino)."
However, prosecutor Michael Coluzza asked Serrano to remind jurors that Molina-Cirino claimed Sammy Rivera was involved in a murder conspiracy along with Indio and Jose "Mojon" Cirino.
Coluzza then emphasized that Molina-Cirino was giving "very specific details" about Lindsey's shooting during the May 14 interview.
And all of those details Molina-Cirino attributed to Indio, Serrano said. Molina-Cirino said Indio told him this information in passing while walking down a street late at night, Coluzza noted.
But then after interviewing Molina-Cirino for 30 minutes on June 6, Molina-Cirino changed his story and said he got his information first-hand because he was actually at the scene, Serrano said.
"And what did he do when he admitted he was there?" Coluzza asked.
"He cried," Serrano said.
2:02 p.m. Court has resumed, and defense attorney Rebecca Wittman continues to question state police Investigator Samuel Serrano about the June 6 video-recorded interview of Wesley Molina-Cirino.
Serrano said that Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek handcuffed Molina-Cirino during the June 6 interview for about 20 to 30 minutes when Kopek mentioned that Indio was at the police station.
But after Kopek left, Serrano removed the handcuffs so Molina-Cirino could demonstrate how he saw Officer Tom Lindsey get shot, Serrano said.
Serrano acknowledged there was much confusion over names, places and the sequence of events that Molina-Cirino described during the interview.
Wittman has begun to show several clips of the May 14 interview in which Molina-Cirino describes Indio and the gun he says Jose Cirino used to shoot Lindsey, Serrano said.
During one of those clips, Molina-Cirino is again heard explaining that he left a house on Dudley Avenue when Jose Cirino pulled up in a white car.
Jose Cirino was wearing a white hoodie, and he said, "I killed him. I killed the officer," Molina-Cirino told investigators.
This May 14 interview was the first time Serrano heard Molina-Cirino mention anything about a white hoodie, he said.
During this interview, Molina-Cirino also discusses see Jose Cirino with a gun on two occasions, April 9 and on April 12, the day Lindsey was killed.
When Molina-Cirino was trying to explain seeing the gun on another night, Serrano acknowledged that he accused Molina-Cirino of lying.
1:01 p.m. Judge Barry Donalty adjourned court for lunch until 2 p.m., at which time defense attorney Rebecca Wittman will resume her cross-examination related to the June 6 interview of Wesley Molina-Cirino.
12:37 p.m. When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, state police Investigator Samuel Serrano said he is taught certain interrogation tactics when questioning a suspect.
But, Serrano added, "They always teach you one thing: to go with your instincts."
Wittman questioned whether Serrano intentionally warmed up to Molina-Cirino during the interview, Serrano said, "I felt he was comfortable with me."
However, "We weren't friends," Serrano said.
Serrano also said that Molina-Cirino told him at least two or more times that investigators were confusing him during the interview.
"We'd stop to get it straight, because he was confusing us, too," Serrano said.
Wittman asked Serrano how many times Molina-Cirino said "it wasn't him, he didn't do it."
"He said that quite a bit," perhaps more than 100 times, Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino also said, "Take my prints. Take my prints. You'll see I'm innocent," Serrano recalled.
Serrano likewise recalled Molina-Cirino asking to take a lie detector test by saying, "Hook me up to the machine."
Wittman questioned Serrano's interrogation tactic of using "untruths" in order to try to get Molina-Cirino to confess to Lindsey's shooting. At one point, Serrano said Molina-Cirino was told that Indio is on his way to the police station so police could talk to him.
Molina-Cirino has previously said that Indio told him Jose Cirino was Lindsey's killer.
Despite that untruth about Indio, however, Molina-Cirino never confessed, Wittman noted.
"He was constantly saying, 'It wasn't me,'" Serrano said.
But Serrano emphasized that he did not tell Molina-Cirino that many "untruths" during the interview.
"We were letting him talk most of the time," Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino also asked to go downstairs several times and to be taken to the Oneida County jail, Serrano said.
"He'd say, 'Take me. Just take me,'" Serrano said.
Then when Wittman asked if Serrano ever stopped the interview for that purpose, Serrano said, "No, we just kept going."
Serrano said he also told Molina-Cirino that he could get in trouble on federal charges as an accomplice to Lindsey's death if this was a plot that involved other people.
"But that line of questioning didn't result in the confession you were looking for, did it?" Wittman asked.
"No," Serrano replied.
When Molina-Cirino was also told that his family was talking against him, Serrano said that his family was lying to protect Jose Cirino. 12:29 p.m. Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman first questions New York state police Investigator Samuel Serrano about Wesley Molina-Cirino's ability to understand English.
Serrano said Molina-Cirino has been in the United States long enough that he understood some English.
However, Serrano added, "He's not going to be a poet or anything."
Wittman then questioned Serrano about his perception of Molina-Cirino's intelligence.
"He had a definite street sense about him," Serrano said. "He wasn't book smart; he was street smart."
Serrano acknowledged that he assisted in creating the transcript of the video-recorded interview that continuously scrolled below the video as it played for jurors.
Nevertheless, Serrano noted there were many portions of the video interview that remained inaudible. Demonstrating how Lindsey was shot
12:04 p.m. New York state police Investigator Samuel Serrano chokes up on the stand as he describes how Wesley Molina-Cirino demonstrated the shooting of Officer Tom Lindsey.
In the video, Serrano can be seen standing in the position an officer would stand in during a traffic stop. Molina-Cirino then walks up diagonally from behind toward Serrano's right side.
"Wesley's showing how Tommy got shot," Serrano said, his voice shaking.
As Serrano fights back tears, several police officers can been seen biting their lip, their eyes somewhat red. And some can be heard sniffling.
"I'd like you to play that one more time," prosecutor Michael Coluzza asks his tech assistant. Again, jurors see Molina-Cirino come onto the screen and rush Serrano's right side with his arm reached out.
"So you saw all this?" Serrano is then heard asking Molina-Cirino in the video.
When Molina-Cirino said he was close enough to hear Lindsey talking, Serrano asked what Lindsey was saying.
"You felt like he had to be closer?" Coluzza asked Serrano.
"Very," Serrano testified.
Serrano then explained that Molina-Cirino continued to place himself closer and closer to Lindsey's shooting as the interview went on.
First Molina-Cirino said he was about two blocks away, then Molina-Cirino said he was further up Neilson Street, near a fire house, Serrano said. But from that position, Molina-Cirino would not have been able to have a good view of what happened.
Molina-Cirino went on to say he was a few houses away from Lindsey's shooting, Serrano recalled.
And by the end of the interview, Molina-Cirino was standing behind the rear driver's portion of Lindsey's vehicle, Serrano said.
At this point, the subject of forgiveness came up, Serrano said.
"I asked if he had asked for forgiveness," Serrano told Coluzza.
"Because he was present when it happened?" Coluzza asked.
"Yes," Serrano said.
Then Serrano recalled Molina-Cirino's response: "I did. On that same day, I did it."
One again, Molina-Cirino is asked about his familiarity with Officer Lindsey, and he said Lindsey had stopped him two times in the past, Serrano said.
Earlier during the interview, Serrano said that Molina-Cirino was asked about his relationship with Sammy Rivera, the person who Lindsey stopped on Neilson Street.
Molina-Cirino said he and Rivera had a "falling out," Serrano said.
"He said the source was Sammy's girlfriend," Serrano said. "It was his girlfriend before." June 6 interview 11:24 a.m. As testimony resumes, state police Investigator Samuel Serrano said that Wesley Molina-Cirino started to cry at one point during the interview.
"When he finally said he was there and he saw the shooting," Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino first places himself about two blocks away from Lindsey's shooting, while Jose Cirino ran up Seymour Avenue and came around Mortimer Street toward Neilson Street, Serrano said.
But then Molina-Cirino "modifies" his story, Serrano said.
This time Molina-Cirino said he was closer to Lindsey's vehicle on Neilson Street, Serrano said.
"He said he could see Tommy using the computer," Serrano recalled.
Then after the shooting, Molina-Cirino said he went to Wanda's house in Neilson Street, which is different than what Molina-Cirino previously told Serrano, he said.
When asked if Molina-Cirino knew Officer Lindsey, he replied that he had been stopped by Lindsey in the past, Serrano said.
Later in the interview, investigators confronted Molina-Cirino about inconsistencies in his timeline of what he was doing the night of Lindsey's shooting.
The interview clips, however, continue to sound garbled and distorted throughout, so it is difficult to hear what everyone is saying during their Spanish to English conversation.
"Is it fair to say that got fairly confrontational?" prosecutor Michael Coluzza asked.
"Yes," Serrano replied.
Investigators questioned how Molina-Cirino could be heading to one location, if he said he was already in another location, Serrano said.
But when told of people who contradicted Molina-Cirino's whereabouts, Molina-Cirino dismissed them as "liars," Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino also denied telling anyone about the shooting in jail, recalling several inmate witnesses who testified last week about comments Molina-Cirino made while incarcerated.
Serrano can then be heard on the video-recorded interview shouting to Molina-Cirino in English about where Molina-Cirino said he was when he witnessed Lindsey's shooting.
"Don't say you were two blocks away," Serrano yelled. "You weren't two blocks away. You've got to be more truthful ... Just be a man, say that's what you saw."
Molina-Cirino would respond in some English, as well as some Spanish, Serrano said. And when Serrano asked in English what Jose Cirino was wearing when he shot Lindsey, Molina-Cirino replied to his English question in Spanish. 11:06 a.m. As state police Investigator Samuel Serrano became more "accusatory," Wesley Molina-Cirino for the first time places himself at the scene of Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting.
Prior to this point, Molina-Cirino had always said that Indio and Jose Cirino were the source of his knowledge about what happened that night, Serrano noted.
"Now he's placing himself at the scene of the shooting," Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino goes on to describe being present with Jose Cirino, Indio and Sammy Rivera on the Parkway when they discuss a plan to kill somebody, Serrano said.
Molina-Cirino says he is also in a car with all three men at some point, and he then identifies the position of where each person was when Lindsey was shot, Serrano said.
Serrano was about to identify each person's position on a street map when Judge Barry Donalty adjourned court for a brief morning recess.
Earlier in Serrano's testimony, Serrano notes several inconsistencies in Molina-Cirino's timeline of where he was the night Lindsey was killed.
Molina-Cirino said he was first at his brother's house on Seymour Avenue before going to a woman named Wanda's house in Neilson Street, where Jose Cirino also was, Serrano explained. There Molina-Cirino watched TV and played video games, he said.
At some point, Molina-Cirino said he left Wanda's house to go to another woman's house on Dudley Avenue, Serrano said.
As Molina-Cirino left that Dudley Avenue house later that night, he said he encountered Indio while coming down the stairs, Serrano recalled.
That's when Molina-Cirino said he first talked to Indio about Lindsey's death, Serrano said. Previously, however, Molina-Cirino said he overheard Indio talking about Lindsey's shooting with Jose Cirino over a cell speaker phone on James Street.
Molina-Cirino said he also encountered Jose Cirino in a white car while walking around 1 a.m.
Jose Cirino said, "Look what I have," as he showed Molina-Cirino a gun, Serrano said. There was, however, some confusion over where Molina-Cirino said he first saw the gun, Serrano noted.
"He said he was going to shoot a black guy," Molina-Cirino recalled Jose Cirino telling him, Serrano said. 10:32 a.m. Prosecutors are now playing the June 6 interview with Utica police investigators that resulted in Wesley Molina-Cirino's arrested for aggravated murder in the death of Officer Tom Lindsey.
The audibility of the English translations is slightly difficult to hear through distortion.
In the first clip of the video-recorded interview at the Utica Police Department, Spanish-speaking NY state police Investigator Samuel Serrano notes that Molina-Cirino can be seen looking at several photographs on the wall.
Those pictures were of a number of people related to the Lindsey investigation, Serrano said.
In the second clip, Molina-Cirino is seen waiving his right to an attorney with Serrano. It appeared that Molina-Cirino had trouble reading Spanish. May 14 interview 10:04 a.m. In the video interview, Wesley Molina-Cirino said that Indio told him Jose Cirino was wearing a white hoodie, black gloves and black wind pants when Officer Tom Lindsey was shot. Jose Cirino's face was also covered, he said.
Investigators then ask Molina-Cirino when he first learned of this information, and Molina-Cirino said he was walking home around 1 a.m. when he talked with Indio.
Molina-Cirino then said that he talked to Jose Cirino after Jose Cirino pulled up in a car.
But prosecutor Michael Coluzza noted that Molina-Cirino went on to describe additional ways in which he heard about the shooting: Molina-Cirino was on James Street with Indio when Indio began to discuss the shooting with Jose Cirino over a cell speaker phone.
At one point, Molina-Cirino says in the video that Jose Cirino, Indio and Sammy Rivera were all involved in the shooting.
"He was indicating that they had planned this," state police Investigator Samuel Serrano told Coluzza.
While investigators were discussing Molina-Cirino's original hometown of Loiza, Puerto Rico, the subject of police killings is brought up, Serrano said.
During the night of the shooting, Molina-Cirino said he was heading to William Cepada's house to get a ride to his residence on Jay Street.
Investigators turned their attention to the gun, and Molina-Cirino showed police in the first-person how the gun was dropped off a bridge and into a river. Molina-Cirino appeared to act as if he was looking over a bridge and then actually dropping an object.
Despite Molina-Cirino's descriptive reenactment, Molina-Cirino said that Indio told him this information.
"But he's showing you how it was dropped?" Coluzza asked Serrano.
"Yes," Serrano replied.
Serrano then noted that Molina-Cirino made a comment in English: "No throw, drop." 9:52 a.m. The jury is now watching the second part of the May 14 interview with Wesley Molina-Cirino in which state police Investigator Samuel Serrano translated Molina-Cirino's comments from Spanish to English.
During the interview, Molina-Cirino is again heard telling Serrano that Sammy Rivera's uncle, Indio, told him that Jose Cirino shot Officer Tom Lindsey during the April 12 traffic stop.
Molina-Cirino goes on to describe Jose Cirinio, as well as some of Jose Cirino's friends and associates.
Molina-Cirino identifies Jose Cirino by his street name of "Mojon," and he also identifies his own street name of "Flaco." Spanish investigator discusses video-recorded interviews 9:45 a.m. Spanish-speaking New York State Police Investigator Samuel Serrano is currently on the stand describing his translation of Wesley Molina-Cirino's comments to Utica police investigators on May 14 and June 6, 2007.
Serrano, who is from Puerto Rico, says he has translated in more than 100 cases.
When investigators met with Molina-Cirino in Syracuse on May 14 and then in Utica on June 6, Serrano said both interviews were video-recorded. Correction: Investigator Kopek's comment
9:32 a.m. Before the first witness is called to the stand, I would just like to correct something you may have read in my story in today's edition of the Observer-Dispatch.
In today's lead story on 1B titled, "Suspect called Lindsey 'a good person'," I quoted Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek as he described why Wesley Molina-Cirino became the prime suspect following a May 14, 2007, interview.
The quote should have read: "All the knowledge he had of this, and where the gun was, and who did it, and all the inconsistencies
