The Observer-Dispatch - Utica, NY 13501

Thursday, March 20, 2008

DAY EIGHT: MOLINA-CIRINO GUILTY

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.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

DAY SEVEN: NO VERDICT TODAY

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.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

DAY SIX: TRIAL TESTIMONY ENDS

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 in his story," Kopek said. "He was the strongest we had."

Although I correctly reported his quote Monday in this online blog, I incorrectly wrote "consistencies," instead of "inconsistencies," in the print edition.

I apologize for any confusion over this matter.

Jurors to hear final Molina-Cirino interview

9:00 a.m.
The sixth day of testimony will resume around 9:30 a.m., and prosecutors will likely focus on the final video-recorded interview Wesley Molina-Cirino had with police hours before he would be charged with killing Officer Tom Lindsey on June 6.

This recording is more than 5 hours long, and prosecutors will likely show the jury specific clips of significance.

It is during this interview, police and prosecutors believe, that Molina-Cirino links himself to Lindsey's death by putting himself at the scene. Although Molina-Cirino never admits to shooting Lindsey, he does tell police that he witnessed the shooting and he is close enough to see the computer screen inside Lindsey's patrol vehicle.

Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is expected to all call several witnesses today, but she said Molina-Cirino will not take the stand.

Both sides will then likely give their closing arguments Wednesday morning, and a verdict could come as early as that day.

Monday, March 17, 2008

DAY FIVE: MOLINA-CIRINO BECOMES THE PRIME SUSPECT

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 investigation continues

3:40 p.m.
With the conclusion of Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek's testimony, Judge Barry Donalty has adjourned court until Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, prosecutors expect to call their last witness, Spanish-speaking state police Inv. Samual Serrano.

Prosecutors will then introduce a composite of clips from the video-recorded June 6 interview of Wesley Molina-Cirino at the Utica Police Department.

During that interview, Molina-Cirino reportedly admits that he was on Neilson Street and witnessed Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting. Molina-Cirino, however, does not admit that he was the person who shot Lindsey.

Donalty agreed to give Wittman time to review that final interview and place the prosecution's chosen clips "in the proper context."

Donalty also expected that the prosecution's proof will wrap up Tuesday, and both sides will then offer their closing arguments early Wednesday morning.

"We're right on schedule," Donalty said. "Perhaps a little ahead of schedule."

A verdict could come as early as Wednesday.

3:28 p.m.
Wesley Molina-Cirino became a strong suspect after Sammy Rivera named him as Officer Tom Lindsey's shooter on April 19, lead Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek said.

That was Kopek's thinking toward Molina-Cirino when they questioned him in Syracuse on May 14 about the gun used to kill Lindsey, Kopek said.

But as that May 14 interview went on, Kopek said Molina-Cirino became their prime suspect in Lindsey's death.

Kopek explained what indicated Molina-Cirino was Lindsey's killer: "All the knowledge he had of this, and where the gun was, and who did it, and all the inconsistencies in his story."

"He was the strongest we had," Kopek said of Molina-Cirino. "That just put it over the top, with his story on May 14."

3:06 p.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is now questioning lead Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek.

During Wittman's questioning, Kopek became somewhat confused about when Sammy Rivera made comments regarding seeing Wesley Molina-Cirino shortly before Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting.

Kopek said police had learned early on in the Lindsey investigation -- April 13 -- of a black vehicle related to the case.

But during later conversations, Rivera described a similar black vehicle several times the day of Lindsey's death, Kopek said. Rivera also identified several of the occupants in that vehicle: Wesley Molina-Cirino and Luis Montos, he said.

"He believed they were following him," Kopek recalled Rivera saying.

Rivera told police he had seen the black vehicle on James Street shortly before Rivera would be stopped by Lindsey a few blocks away, Kopek said.

During a May 2 interview, however, Rivera did not say he saw the black vehicle on Neilson Street, Kopek said.

Kopek made no mention in any notes of Rivera's comments about the black vehicle and seeing Molina-Cirino that day because that wasn't the primary focus of that particular May 2 interview, he said.

"Sometimes I took notes, sometimes I did not," Kopek said.

Wittman then noted that when Rivera named Molina-Cirino April 19 as the shooter in Lindsey's death, at that time Rivera said nothing about seeing Molina-Cirino earlier the day of Lindsey's death.

Kopek agreed that it became confusing to keep track of who was who, and police had to form a "family tree" of who was connected to who.

For example, three different people named "Jose Cirino" were identified throughout the police investigation, Kopek said.

As the questioning continued, Kopek denied beating Rivera in the moments after learning of Lindsey's death.

2:54 p.m.
After Wesley Molina-Cirino pleaded guilty to an unrelated drug charge in Onondaga County Court June 6, Molina-Cirino was released from jail in Syracuse and approached by Utica police, Kopek said.

Molina-Cirino then agreed to come back to Utica to talk more about the Lindsey investigation.

After an interview that lasted more than 5 hours, Molina-Cirino was charged with aggravated murder in Lindsey's death, Kopek said.

2:35 p.m.
After hearing of Officer Tom Lindsey's death, Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek talked with Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz.

Diaz gave Kopek two names: Wesley Molina-Cirino, or "Flaco," and a man named "Mojon," who would later be determined to be Jose Cirino.

Diaz signed a waiver for police to search her Seymour Avenue residence, and police found two photographs that pictured the following people: Mario Sierra; a man police believe was "Mojon;" and Sammy Rivera, who was holding Diaz's 2-year-old son.

"We were going to base our preliminary investigation around Sammy Rivera," and what Rivera had been doing the night Lindsey was killed, Kopek said.

After looking at those photos, Kopek said he was reminded of an August 2006 traffic stop Kopek had responded to as backup.

During that 2006 traffic stop, Kopek said Molina-Cirino, Mario Sierra, Neftali Gonzalez and a different Jose Cirino were present in the car.

As the Lindsey investigation continued, Molina-Cirino was arrested April 17 on a warrant for drug charges out of Onondaga County. Molina-Cirino was considered a "person of interest" at this point when he was initially interviewed by Utica police.

Shortly after, Kopek and Utica police Officer Arlene Hernandez traveled to Puerto Rico to talk with the person they believed to be "Mojon," Neftali Gonzalez.

But when Kopek talked to Gonzalez, Kopek learned that he had been mistaken: The person named as "Mojon" in Diaz's photograph was actually a man named Jose Cirino.

Police learned that Jose Cirino had been in Puerto Rice after getting a flight out of Syracuse on April 15, two days after Lindsey's shooting death.

While Kopek was preparing to leave Puerto Rico, he learned on April 22 that Sammy Rivera had talked to police again.

This time, however, Rivera named Molina-Cirino as Lindsey's killer, Kopek said.

Kopek later interviewed Molina-Cirino on May 14 about Lindsey's death and where to find the weapon, he said. Kopek also talked with Molina-Cirino in Syracuse on June 1.

It was around the time of the May 14 interview that Molina-Cirino became a "suspect" in Lindsey's death.

2:13 p.m.
Utica police Investigator Robert Kopek has now taken the stand, and he is about to tell the jury about his conversations with Wesley Molina-Cirino.

Kopek's voice is shaking at points as he first recalls the moment Lindsey's shooting was reported on April 12.

Kopek was on his way to the report of "shots fired" on Neilson Street when suddenly things changed, he said.

"It was a short time after that it was confirmed ... the words ... officer down," Kopek said slowly.

Kopek then heard an officer transmit over the radio: "Expedite him," referring to ambulance transportation.

"When a police officer says that, things are bad," Kopek said.

On the way to the location of Lindsey's shooting, however, Kopek responded to John Street where the red Neon that Lindsey had stopped was found.

As soon as Kopek arrived at the John Street scene, he heard the Neon's driver -- Sammy Rivera -- shouting, "A guy in a white hoodie shot the cop! A guy in a white hoodie shot the cop!"

The front driver's door was closed on the red Neon, and Kopek said he noticed blood on the side of the car door. Kopek also noticed a child sleeping in the back seat of the Neon.

"To be honest with you, I thought the child was dead," Kopek said. "He was just out cold."

After Sammy Rivera was transported to the Utica Police Department, Kopek said Rivera told him and Utica police Inv. Joseph Longo "exactly what had happened."

At some point, Kopek left the room, and "I learned that Officer Lindsey had died,"

Kopek's voice continued to shake as he recalled working with Lindsey.

"We patrolled Cornhill together," Kopek said. "We backed each other up on a lot of calls. We were very close."

Kopek then returned to the interview room where Rivera was.

"I yelled, I screamed, I cried," Kopek said. "I got 30 seconds of frustration out, caught myself and left the room."

During Rivera's testimony last week, he said he was beaten during this questioning period.

Moments later, Kopek said told Investigator Longo, "I'm just too emotionally involved to continue," and he went to work on other parts of the investigation.

Video recording of Molina-Cirino's May 14 interview

1:09 p.m.
After the roughly 60-minute recorded interview ended, Judge Barry Donalty asked, "Ms. Wittman, do you have any questions?"

"No, your honor," Wittman replied.

The judge then adjourned court for lunch until 2:15 p.m.

12:45 p.m.
As the interview continues, Onondaga County DA Inv. Stanley Weidman is heard asking Wesley Molina-Cirino whether he knew the officer who was shot.

Yes, Molina-Cirino replied. This portion was played during the prosecution's questioning of Weidman, but the full extent of Molina-Cirino's response is heard only after Wittman requested the entire interview be played.

Weidman asks Molina-Cirino if he knew the officer who was shot.

"Yes, he arrested me before ... in 2001," Molina-Cirino replied. When prosecutors initially played the clip earlier, however, it was cut off before jurors could hear the exact year.

Prosecutors also did not initially play the portions of the interview where Molina-Cirino speaks positively of Lindsey.

"He was a good person," Molina-Cirino said of Lindsey. "He wasn't bad."

Molina-Cirino later added: "That police officer didn't get into any problems with anybody. He didn't mess with anybody, he didn't abuse anbyody.

And again, Molina-Cirino expressed his desire to keep secret this conversation with police.

"As long as my name doesn't come out, they won't give me any trouble out there," Molina-Cirino said.

"Are you scared now," Weidman asked.

"If I get out on the street and this comes out, they'll kill me ... because they have people," Molina-Cirino said.

As the interview neared its end, Weidman asked Molina-Cirino if there was anything else he wanted to mention that they hadn't already asked him about.

"If I knew anything else, I would tell you," Molina-Cirino said. "I'm telling you the truth."

Weidman said, "That's all we're asking for, is the truth."

"Have you ever told anybody else this story?" Weidman asked moments later.

"No, nobody," Molina-Cirino said. The only people that know what happened are Indio, Jose Cirino and Sammy Rivera, he said.

12:28 p.m.
As the recorded interview continues to play, Onondaga County DA Inv. Stanley Weidman again points out the confusion surrounding what Wesley Molina-Cirino is saying.

"He's using a lot of pronouns," Weidman tells Molina-Cirino's defense attorney. "He's using a lot of him, her, it, and they ... make sure he uses names.

Molina-Cirino said he doesn't know their names because he doesn't spend time with them.

Then Weidman said, "This is the "bad" Jose, that's who we're talking about?"

Molina-Cirino notes that he first learned that Jose Cirino shot Lindsey from Indio, the uncle of Sammy Rivera. Rivera's vehicle was stopped by Lindsey on the 1100 block of Neilson Street.

At some point, Molina-Cirino returns to when Jose Cirino showed him the gun. Molina-Cirino was about to shake Jose Cirino's hand when Jose Cirino said, "Look what I have here."

That's when Jose Cirino picked up a gun on the floor in a white car and said he was going to throw it into the river before he left for Utica, Molina-Cirino said. Then Jose Cirino put the gun back on the floor.

"And that's the other Jose?" Weidman said.

The day after Lindsey's shooting, Molina-Cirino said he was walking down James Street when he encountered Indio.

When Indo told Molina-Cirino that Jose Cirino killed the police officer, Molina-Cirino then replied, "I told (Indio), 'Well that's not my problem. If you guys were involved in this, then that's your problem.' "

11:54 a.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman has returned to the courtroom and she will begin cross-examining Inv. Stanley Weidman about Wesley Molina-Cirino's recorded interview.

However, Wittman said she wants jurors to hear all of Molina-Cirino's answers in the context of the entire recorded interrogation.

Therefore, the roughly hour-long video recorded interview is now being played.

During the video, Molina-Cirino told investigators that he does not want anyone to know that he is providing police with information about Officer Tom Lindsey's killing.

"I don't want my name to come out in this," Molina-Cirino said. "I'll get in a big problem."

Molina-Cirino's defense attorney at the time also attempted to clear up some confusion surrounding people that Molina-Cirino was mentioning. Two different men named "Jose Cirino" are being mentioned during the interview: one is the person Molina-Cirino claims shot Lindsey.

In playing the entire interview tape, Wittman will likely argue there was some confusion over the people Molina-Cirino is referring to.

At one point, Molina-Cirino recalls Sammy Rivera's car as being the one that police found at a church on John Street after Lindsey was shot.

"I saw that all in the newspaper," Molina-Cirino said.

Onondaga County DA Inv. Stanley Weidman then says, "I'm confused. Let's back up here."

Weidman then asks Molina-Cirino to describe the gun Jose Cirino had, and all he could say was that it was a black .44 handgun.

Molina-Cirino again points out that he fears for his own safety if anyone finds out that he is telling this information to police.

"As long as my name doesn't come out in the newspaper, I'm all OK," Molina-Cirino says. If that happens, he added, "They'll kill me also."

Again the interview enters some confusion over distinguishing between the "good" Jose Cirino and the "bad" Jose Cirino.

"The other Jose is a distant cousin," Molina-Cirino said. " 'Good' Jose is a cousin by blood, the other one's not."

For the third time, Molina-Cirino voices his fear: "I just don't want my name to come out."

Weidman replied, "I understand."

11:33 a.m.
After listening to about 30 minutes of video clips from Wesley Molina-Cirino's May 14, 2007, interview, defense attorney Rebecca Wittman has asked for a brief recess to review the transcripts before conducting her cross-examination.

During the video clips, Onondaga County DA Investigators Stanley Weidman can be heard asking Molina-Cirino questions and listening to his answers, translated from Spanish to English:

Here are some of the answers:

When asked if Molina-Cirino knew the officer who was shot, Molina Cirino replied: "He arrested me before," but no further specifics were given.

The interview began with Molina-Cirino telling investigators about where his cousin, Jose Cirino, threw the .44 handgun he used to kill Lindsey.

"There's a bridge ... was where they threw the gun," Molina-Cirino said.

When asked if Molina-Cirino ever saw the gun, he said he saw his cousin, Jose Cirino, with it on April 13, the day after Lindsey's death: "It was in a leather bag, and it was wrapped up."

According to Molina-Cirino, Jose Cirino said: "I'm going to go throw this in the river," and then leave for Puerto Rico.

Molina-Cirino said he wasn't with Jose Cirino when the gun was thrown in the water, but Molina-Cirino was told about it.

"I know where it is," Molina-Cirino said. "If (I) was there, that's where (I) could show where they threw it ... I'm not lying."

During the interview clips, Molina-Cirino names different people as being involved with Lindsey's death: his cousin Jose Cirino, a man named Indio, and Sammy Rivera, the person Lindsey stopped on the 1100 block of Neilson Street.

Molina-Cirino first said that Indio told him that Jose Cirino had snuck up behind Lindsey and shot him. After Jose Cirino "hit him," Jose Cirino and Indio then left in another vehicle.

"I told him, 'Whatever, that's your problem,'" Molina-Cirino told Weidman. "If you guys are involved with this, that's your problem."

But Molina-Cirino's varies in how he heard of Lindsey's shooting and that the gun was going to be dumped in the river, Inv. Stanley Weidman noted.

Molina-Cirino first says that Indio told him, then Molina-Cirino said that he overheard Jose Cirino discussing the shooting with Indio on speaker phone.

That's when Jose Cirino said he was going to get rid of the gun and leave for Puerto Rico, or else he would be arrested, Molina-Cirino said.

But Molina-Cirino also said during the interview that Jose Cirino personally told him about the gun and his plans to leave Utica.

Although Molina-Cirino's answers are clear for the most part, the investigator appeared to get confused at certain points as Molina-Cirino provides seemingly inconsistent answers to similar questions.

10:59 a.m.
The video recording is now being played, and it contains a running transcript of subtitles below the recorded images of Wesley Molina-Cirino's interview.

10:43 a.m.
Prosecutors are about to show a 20-minute recorded portion of the May 14, 2007, interview with investigators in which Wesley Molina-Cirino discusses the location of the gun used to kill Officer Thomas Lindsey.

Molina-Cirino came forward with info on gun

10:21 a.m.
Stanley Weidman, an investigator with the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office, is discussing his interview of Wesley Molina-Cirino on May 14, 2007.

Weidman told prosecutor Laurie Lisi that Molina-Cirino occasionally would begin to answers questions in broken English before they were ever translated to him in Spanish.

After about 1 hour and 15 minutes, Weidman contacted investigators with Utica police to attend the interview at that point, he said. Once the Utica investigators arrived, the interview resumed for another 2 hours, he said.

Although Spanish-speaking state police Inv. Samuel Serrano took over translations at that point, Spanish interpreter Gabriel Ramos had no objection to how the discussion was being translated, Weidman said.

Then on June 6, Weidman said he was present when Molina-Cirino was released from the Onondaga County jail after pleading guilty to drug charges.

That's when Molina-Cirino met state police Inv. Sam Serrano and shook hands, Weidman said. Molina-Cirino then agreed to go with police to Utica to further assist in the Lindsey investigation.

Molina-Cirino would later be charged that day with killing Lindsey.

Weidman was also handed a CD that he verified contained the video recording of Molina-Cirino's May 14 interview with investigators.

10:13 a.m.
On May 18, 2007, Spanish interpreter Gabriel Ramos accompanied Wesley Molina-Cirino to Utica to help investigators locate the gun used to kill Officer Tom Lindsey.

Molina-Cirino met with investigators on a bridge over the Mohawk River near the New York State Thruway exit in Utica, Ramos said.

"It was in that area that the weapon had been disposed," Molina-Cirino told investigators, Ramos recalled.

But the weapon was never located, and investigators met with Molina-Cirino in Onondaga County on June 1, 2007, again to discuss Molina-Cirino's further cooperation with police, Ramos said.

During that interview, Molina-Cirino agreed to voluntarily go back to Utica with police investigators to further point out location in Utica related to the Lindsey investigation.

Ramos also noted that Molina-Cirino appeared to understand some English, and he tried to answer some questions in English.

At no point did Molina-Cirino ever ask to stop the interview, and he did not refuse to answer any questions, Ramos said.

10:01 a.m.
Spanish interpreter Gabriel Ramos is currently describing his translation of English to Spanish for Wesley Molina-Cirino during a May 14, 2007, interview with Onondaga County prosecutors.

Ramos said that Molina-Cirino appeared to understand that the purpose of the meeting was for Molina-Cirino to provide information on a gun related to Officer Tom Lindsey's death.

Molina-Cirino also seemed to be freely willing to discuss this information, Ramos said.

At some point during the interview, Ramos said, there was a break until police investigators from Utica arrived: Investigators Samual Serrano and Robert Kopek.

Serrano, a Spanish speaking investigator with the NY state police, began with a back and forth discussion with Molina-Cirino, Ramos said.

Serrano would then question Molina-Cirino in Spanish, and then he would repeat Molina-Cirino's answer in English for the other investigators.

9:38 a.m.
Prosecutors have called their first witness, Bridge Scholl, an assistant district attorney in Onondaga County.

After Wesley Molina-Cirino was arrested on drug charges in 2006, Molina-Cirino failed to show up for his Feb. 15, 2007, arraignment in Onondaga County Court, Scholl explained. The county judge issued a bench arrest warrant.

On April 17, 2007, U.S. Marshals contacted Onondaga County prosecutors looking for any information on Molina-Cirino, Scholl said.

Molina-Cirino was a "person of interest" in Lindsey's shooting, Scholl said.

"They were trying to find him," Scholl said.

After Utica police first questioned Molina-Cirino, he was then turned over to Onondaga County authorities.

On April 18, 2007, Molina-Cirino was arraigned on the drug charges in Onondaga County Court, Scholl said.

On April 23, 2007, Molina-Cirino rejected an offer of 1 year in jail in exchange for a plea to fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, or criminal possession of a fake $5 bill, Scholl said.

After Molina-Cirino rejected that offer, Scholl said she planned on indicting Molina-Cirino on a higher drug charge of third-degree criminal drug possession.

But in early May 2007, Molina-Cirino's defense attorney told Scholl that his client had possible information regarding a gun relevant to Lindsey's shooting death.

Onondaga County prosecutors then talked with Molina-Cirino on May 14, and he appeared to understand some English, Scholl said. As the interview went on, prosecutors then contacted Utica police about what Molina-Cirino was discussing because they were not familiar with the Utica locations Molina-Cirino named.

That interview was video recorded, she said.

Due to Molina-Cirino's "continued cooperation," Scholl allowed Molina-Cirino to plead guilty June 6, 2007, to fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

"He seemed very cooperative and wanted to give information to police to help himself on my case, obviously," Scholl told defense attorney Rebecca Wittman.

Molina-Cirino was then sentenced to time-served and he received no additional jail time, Scholl said.

But when Molina-Cirino was released, Utica police were waiting for Molina-Cirino.

Molina-Cirino would be charged that day with aggravated murder in Lindsey's death.

Fifth day of testimony to begin shortly

9:00 a.m.
Utica police Chief C. Allen Pylman and Officer Thomas Lindsey's girlfriend, Lisa Karpowich, are among the first to arrive in Oneida County Court as the fifth day of trial testimony against Wesley Molina-Cirino is expected to resume.

It is unclear what witnesses the prosecution will call this morning, but video recordings of interviews Molina-Cirino had with investigators will likely be explored today or Tuesday at some point.

The videos will include Spanish to English translations, and the trial was postponed for one week last month so that hours of interrogation video could be translated completely.

Prosecutors have argued that Molina-Cirino's story changed every time he talked with police.

In April, just day after Lindsey's death, Molina-Cirino told police that he was with family at the time of Lindsey's shooting. However, he had been told that an individual named "Rico" shot Lindsey.

At some point Molina-Cirino later told police that his distant cousin, Jose Cirino, actually shot Lindsey.

Then during the last interview police had with Molina-Cirino in June, Molina-Cirino said that he was actually at the scene of the incident on Neilson Street and he witnessed Lindsey's shooting.

Prosecutors believe Molina-Cirino knows information that only the shooter would, while the defense attorney will likely pay attention to Molina-Cirino's demeanor during the video recorded interrogation.

Friday, March 14, 2008

DAY FOUR: MOLINA-CIRINO TALKS ABOUT KILLING POLICE

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

Molina-Cirino keeps talking in jail

3:33 p.m.
Judge Barry Donalty adjourned court for the afternoon, and witness testimony will resume at 9:30 Monday morning.

3:15 p.m.
Another prison inmate, James Bell, is telling jurors about an argument he had with Wesley Molina-Cirino in the Oneida County jail.

On a side note, Bell has testified in several prior trial against men charged with murder during a 2003 drug robbery, Cleotis Mercer and Reginald Davis.

While Bell was in jail, he had an argument with Molina-Cirino in which Molina-Cirino said he had killed several police officers.

Bell was talking to another inmate about Bell's brother, who is a Utica police officer, when Molina-Cirino interrupted.

"He was just ranting and raving about how he can't stand police," and how he killed police officers in his home country, Puerto Rico, Bell said.

They argued for about an hour, and Bell said, "I told him if I ever caught him out of his cell, what I'd do to him."

Bell also overheard Molina-Cirino saying, "He doesn't have a problem with killing again," and also, "I'll kill you like I killed that cop."

Molina-Cirino also would jokingly say, "Excuse me, can I see your license and registration," and then as he pretended to pull out his wallet he would go, "Bang, bang, bang," Bell recalled.

"That's just his sense of humor," Bell said.

The last contact Bell had with Molina-Cirino was in November, he said. Bell then told police about these conversations in March, and Bell is currently awaiting an April 11 sentencing in federal court.

Bell was not promised anything in exchange for this trial testimony, but he did agree that cooperation with authorities does help reduce sentencing guidelines.

"But when you're in jail, it's hard to find things (to help you cooperate) unless you happen to be housed with someone accused of killing a police officer, right?" defense attorney Rebecca Wittman asked.

"I guess," Bell replied.

Wittman then suggested that Bell wouldn't be happy with anyone accused of killing a police officer, since his own brother is an officer.

"I don't feel anybody should be targeted because of their line of work, and be executed, no," Bell said.

Wittman then ended her questioning.

2:30 p.m.
Mario Sierra said that while he was at Oneida County jail, Wesley Molina-Cirino asked him to talk to his defense attorney when she came to the jail.

Molina-Cirino asked Sierra to tell his attorney that Jose "Mojon" Cirino killed Lindsey, not Molina-Cirino, Sierra recalled.

Molina-Cirino also told Sierra to say that Mojon had shown Molina-Cirino a gun previously, he testified. And when Molina-Cirino asked what he was going to do with the .44 caliber gun, Mojon said, "Don't worry about it."

"He asked you to lie?" prosecutor Michael Coluzza asked.

"I didn't know whether it was a lie or not," Sierra said.

Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman then questioned Sierra.

"Have I ever talked to you before?" Wittman asked.

"No," Sierra replied.

Sierra confirmed that he had an argument with Molina-Cirino in jail about playing his music too loud, and that he told investigators about Molina-Cirino's comments after that fight.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Sierra also recalled his own encounter with Officer Tom Lindsey.

Lindsey had once stopped Sierra's vehicle on Howard Avenue and Arthur Street on Aug. 23, 2006, Sierra said.

During the stop, Sierra got out of the car and Lindsey grabbed his pistol while shouting, "Freeze."

Lindsey then searched Sierra's car and found drugs, Sierra said. Sierra was arrested and charged with felonies.

But when Sierra didn't show up for court, Lindsey chased Sierra behind 1431 Howard Ave. Sierra was hiding, and Lindsey didn't find him, Sierra said.

Sierra was arrested later, but not by Lindsey, he said. Sierra was also arrested again in January 2008, and he was incarcerated near Molina-Cirino at Oneida County jail.

During that time, Sierra and Molina-Cirino had a "discussion" at the jail about his loud music. Sierra said he told Molina-Cirino to tone down his voice and to relax.

When questioned further by Wittman, Sierra agreed that he told Molina-Cirino, "I'm going to tell them you did that."

Then Sierra told police "what they wanted to hear," and Sierra was offered a plea deal of 1 year in jail in exchange for his testimony, Wittman suggested.

2:21 p.m.
Mario Sierra, 20, has taken the stand in a jail inmate jumpsuit and has just told prosecutor Michael Coluzza that he is facing drug charges.

Sierra confirmed that he has been offered a plea deal to a misdemeanor charge in exchange for today's testimony.

Sierra said he's known Wesley Molina-Cirino since they were children and while they both lived in Puerto Rico.

Molina-Cirino, also known as "Flaco," meaning "skinny," came to the United States in 2000 or 2001, Sierra said.

After Sierra was released from jail on another charge in May 2007, Sierra returned to Utica and later learned that Molina-Cirino had been arrested in June.

Then in January this year, Sierra was arrested and put in the Oneida County jail near Molina-Cirino, he said. Sierra wanted to be housed near Molina-Cirino.

While they were both jailed, their cell blocks were next to each other and they would exchange conversations.

More about what happened at 1309 Neilson St.

2:08 p.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is now questioning Aurelio Pizarro about Jose "Mojon" Cirino.

Pizarro remembers Mojon showing up at 1309 Neilson St., but he doesn't remember how Mojon got there, he said. Pizarro also doesn't remember if Molina-Cirino was there when Mojon arrived, he said.

Wittman is questioning Pizarro's memory, and he admitted there are some things he can't remember about what happened that night.

However, Pizarro believes Molina-Cirino was wearing a black leather jacket with white skeletons on the back, because that's what he normally saw him wearing.

That's in contrast to witness testimony that Lindsey's shooter was wearing a "white hoodie" that night.

After the April 12 shooting, Pizarro remembers seeing Molina-Cirino about two or three more times at his house.

When police asked Pizarro how he found out a police officer got killed, he said that Molina-Cirino told him, "They killed a cop."

Wittman is again noting a reference to "they" as the people who killed Lindsey, as opposed to an individual person.

Prosecutor Michael Coluzza clarified that police asked Sierra about what Molina-Cirino said only after a conversation Sierra had with his wife from jail. Sierra did not come forward with the information on his own, he said.

Wittman then clarified that when Sierra talked to a Spanish-speaking police officer, he said Molina-Cirino told him to tell his attorney about the Lindsey shooting in order to help Sierra's own case.

1:55 p.m.
Aurelio Pizarro, 20, has now been called as a witness, and he just told prosecutors that he's known Wesley Molina-Cirino, also known as "Flaco," since childhood.

Pizarro, also known as Nay-Nay, or "Kid" in Spanish, lived at 1309 Neilson St., and will talk about who was present at his residence the night Officer Tom Lindsey died.

Pizarro said he also knew Jose "Mojon" Cirino, who would occasionally visit his home.

Pizarro said he saw Mojon (Jose Cirino) the evening of Lindsey's April 12 death, and they played video games together that night.

At one point, Molina-Cirino was in the dining room inside the residence and he said there were police outside, Pizarro said. They both then looked out the window.

"He said a cop got shot or injured," Pizarro recalled Molina-Cirino saying.

Then Molina-Cirino left, but Pizarro did not see where he went.

More blood, DNA analysis

12:31 p.m.
After forensic scientist Andrea Lester has left the stand, Judge Barry Donalty adjourned court for lunch until 1:45 p.m.

11:52 a.m.
Prosecutors have returned to testimony regarding the analysis of blood and DNA related to Lindsey's death.

Another New York State Police forensic scientist, Andrea Lester, is currently on the stand.

Some of the items she analyzed for DNA included swabbings and blood samples from Sammy Rivera's red Neon, cuttings from Rivera's clothing.

Lester then compared those results with DNA samples from Lindsey, Rivera and his girlfriend Noemi Diaz, Diaz's 2-year-old son Luis, and Wesley Molina-Cirino.

Using a color-coded chart displayed to jurors, Lester said that her test results showed that all of the blood found on the driver's side doors of Sammy Rivera's red Neon matched Lindsey's DNA.

Lester also found that only Sammy Rivera's DNA was found on Red Bull cans and bottles found in Rivera's red Neon.

All of Rivera's clothing items, however, contained mixtures of DNA that could not be attributed to a single person, Lester said. However, Lindsey's DNA was not present on Rivera's clothes.

The person Molina-Cirino says shot Lindsey

11:32 a.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is now questioning Jose Cirino about when police questioned him in Puerto Rico.

Wittman asked Cirino if he remembered ever telling police that he and Wesley Molina-Cirino played video games for several hours after Cirino arrived at 1309 Neilson St.

"I don't remember very well," Cirino answered.

When Cirino came outside for a few minutes, he said he talked to Sammy Rivera in his red Neon, and he waved to the child in the backseat. Cirino believes Molina-Cirino was also outside with him at that time.

Cirino, however, had no idea what time Rivera had stopped by.

Cirino also said that he believes Molina-Cirino called someone to see if that person could give Cirino a ride to the airport.

And that ends Cirino's testimony.

11:16 a.m.
As the sun was still setting April 12, Jose Cirino said he told his mother that he missed the flight.

Jose Cirino then walked by himself to 1309 Neilson St., where he started playing PlayStation with a girl.

Sometime later, Wesley Molina-Cirino came into the apartment and said there were police outside and a police officer had been shot.

However, Cirino did not recall what Molina-Cirino's demeanor was like at that time.

Cirino went outside later to walk to a store, and he was stopped by police, he said. They asked to see his ID, and then he continued to walk.

Cirino spent the rest of the night smoking with some friends, he said.

Several days later, a friend took Cirino to the New York City airport and he returned to Puerto Rico, Cirino said.

At some point, police traveled to Puerto Rico to interview Cirino. He then came back to Utica to talk to police about Lindsey's shooting, then he returned to Puerto Rico, he said.

After Cirino identified Molina-Cirino in the courtroom, Cirino said he did not have anything to do with the killing of Lindsey.

10:57 a.m.
Wesley Molina-Cirino's cousin, Jose Cirino, has now taken the stand.

Cirino, 22, living in Puerto Rico, and he says that he came to Utica to visit his family.

Cirino's streetname is "Mojon," he said.

At one point, he lived with his uncle named "Alacran," until he was asked to leave following a "misunderstanding," Cirino said.

Cirino first met Molina-Cirino, also know as "Flaco," and Sammy Rivera at Alacran's house. Molina-Cirino was a distant relative of Cirino, he said.

Cirino has also stayed with Rivera and his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, for a time, and he occasionally stayed at 1309 Neilson St. Cirino said he would see Molina-Cirino there a couple of times.

In April 2007, Cirino said he planned to leave Utica and return to Puerto Rico because he had nowhere else to stay. Cirino's mother then bought him an airplane ticket.

On April 12, 2007, Cirino was scheduled to take a flight to Puerto Rico, he said. Around 5:30 p.m., Cirino said he left for the airport, since his flight was supposed to leave at 7:30 p.m.

Cirino said he went to an airport in Syracuse, but his flight was scheduled for Kennedy Airport in New York City. So Cirino returned to Alacran's home in Utica as the sun was setting.

10:49 a.m.
The court is waiting for Jose Cirino to enter the courtroom and take the stand.

Cirino is Wesley Molina-Cirino's cousin, and Molina-Cirino has told jail inmates that Cirino was the person who killed Lindsey.

Prison inmates: Molina-Cirino talked about Lindsey shooting

10:18 a.m.
Another jail inmate, Jerry Scott, said he first met Wesley Molina-Cirino on April 20 at the correctional facility in Syracuse.

During a newscast on TV, broadcasters said Sammy Rivera was in custody and a suspect named Jose Cirino was being interviewed in Puerto Rico.

"That's my cousin," Molina-Cirino said of Jose Cirino, Scott testified.

Everytime news about Lindsey's death would appear on TV, Molina-Cirino would always run over and watch, Scott said.

Molina-Cirino would then discuss with Scott how Lindsey was killed, Scott explained.

His cousin, Jose Cirino, waited behind a car until Lindsey got out of his patrol vehicle, and that's when Cirino snuck up and shot Lindsey, Scott recalled Molina-Cirino saying.

"That I couldn't believe," Scott said. "I said, 'What you're saying is comical.'"

When Scott asked Molina-Cirino why Lindsey was shot, Molina-Cirino said, "He just did something."

But Molina-Cirino never elaborated, Scott said.

Molina-Cirino said Jose Cirino was wearing a white hoodie and a black mask, and that he threw the gun off and overpass and into a lake behind Denny's in Utica.

Molina-Cirino's brother then drove Jose Cirino to New York City, so he could catch a flight to Puerto Rico, Scott recalled.

Scott said he started to speculate that Molina-Cirino was the shooter. But when Scott told Molina-Cirino that the streets were saying he killed the officer, Molina-Cirino replied, "They can't prove it."

However, Molina-Cirino thought Sammy Rivera was giving police information about the shooting, Scott said.

So Molina-Cirino said he and his brothers had a "hit" on Rivera, and Molina-Cirino was going to "get him" when he got home, Scott testified.

At one point, Scott was moved to a new jail because he felt that Molina-Cirino suspected Scott was talking to police as well, he said.

"I wished him luck," Scott said.

"He said he didn't need luck," Scott recalled. Molina-Cirino said, "They didn't have no weapon, so they can't prove nothing."

Scott told prosecutor Laurie Lisi that he was "promised nothing" in return for his today's testimony in court.

Scott also said part of the reason he told police about what Molina-Cirino said was because his uncle is a police officer.

"I used to want to be a cop," Scott said, but the defense objected and Judge Barry Donalty wouldn't allow Scott to elaborate.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Scott said he didn't pay much attention to what was said on TV about Lindsey's shooting.

"I didn't have to, I had him," Scott said, referring to Molina-Cirino.

Scott told Wittman that Molina-Cirino said Jose Cirino was the shooter about five times, but not once did Molina-Cirino say he himself shot Lindsey.

Wittman also wanted to be certain of something Scott said: When Molina-Cirino was taken into custody by police, he was playing Playstation at a girl's house. Wittman wondered if Scott was sure that Molina-Cirino didn't say that was what he was doing at the time Lindsey would have been shot.

10:10 a.m.
When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, inmate Dennis Rodgers said Wesley Molina-Cirino was speaking in broken Spanish-English when he mentioned shooting somebody.

But Wittman wanted to know what Molina-Cirino specifically said to another inmate regarding the shooting incident.

"He said, 'I felt like I had to kill somebody, so I killed that (expletive,'" Rodgers said.

"That's the sentence he used in speaking to the other Spanish individual?" Wittman asked.

Yes, Rodgers replied.

An earlier police witness, however, said Molina-Cirino did not speak any English when he was being questioned in the days after Lindsey's death.

10:00 a.m.
Dennis Rodgers, 26, was an inmate at the Oneida County jail when he overheard Wesley Molina-Cirino have a conversation with another inmate on June 10.

Molina-Cirino said he didn't initially want to kill Officer Tom Lindsey.

"He was going to kill Sammy (Rivera)," Rodgers recalled Molina-Cirino saying, but he didn't want to kill Rivera because he had a child in his car.

"But he needed to kill somebody, so he killed that (expletive)," referring to Lindsey, Rodgers recalled Molina-Cirino saying.

During a later conversation, Rodgers overheard Molina-Cirino say that police didn't have any evidence on him related to Lindsey's death.

The first time police interview Molina-Cirino

9:50 a.m.
Utica police Officer Raymond Maldonado just read to jurors the statement Wesley Molina-Cirino gave to police for the first time on April 17.

On April 12, Molina-Cirino said he was visiting a family member when Sammy Rivera stopped by, Maldonado read. During that time, Molina-Cirino told Rivera that he was thinking of turning himself in for the warrant he had.

Rivera said everything would be OK, and told Molina-Cirino everything was going well with his girlfriend, Maldonado read.

"We then shook hands and Sammy left," Maldonado read from Molina-Cirino's statement.

Molina-Cirino went on to tell police that he read about Lindsey's death in the newspaper the next day, Maldonado read.

Then Molina-Cirino said he talked with someone called Indio.

During that conversation, Indio told Molina-Cirino that Indio, someone named Rico and Rivera were talking about killing somebody on Neilson Street, where Lindsey would be shot during a traffic stop several days earlier, Maldonado read.

According to Indio, Rivera dropped Indio and Rico off at Mortimer and Neilson streets, Maldonado read from Molina-Cirino's statement.

Rico then came up from behind and shot Lindsey in the head, Molina-Cirino told police.

Molina-Cirino said Rico was wearing a white hoodie.

9:28 a.m.
Wesley Molina-Cirino has been brought into the courtroom, and now the jurors have followed.

Prosecutor Michael Coluzza has called his first witness, Utica police Officer Raymond Maldonado.

Coluzza is questioning Maldonado about his Spanish-speaking abilities, as Maldonado explains that he's performed as a Spanish translator with the Utica Police Department.

On April 17, Maldonado was called to the police department at 7 p.m. to translate for a witness related to Officer Tom Lindsey's death.

That witness was Wesley Molina-Cirino, Maldonado said.

This would be the first time police talked to Molina-Cirino about Lindsey's death.

"We were told he may be a witness and he may have information about the death of Officer Lindsey," Maldonado said. "He did agree to talk."

As Investigator Steve White asked questions, Maldonado would translate from Spanish to English.

"He responded by saying he'd tell us everything that he knew, which wasn't much," Maldonado said.

After Molina-Cirino gave a written statement, Molina-Cirino made a few minor corrections and then he signed the statement, Maldonado said.

Molina-Cirino then said everything he told police was the truth, Maldonado said.

Maldonado made clear that Molina-Cirino was treated only as a witness, and he was not considered a suspect in Lindsey's death at that point.

Molina-Cirino, however, was in custody at that time for an unrelated arrest warrant on drug charges.

Fourth day of testimony set to begin

9:00 a.m.
The fourth day of witness testimony is expected to begin around 9:30 this morning, and prosecutors will likely continue presenting DNA evidence related to blood found at the scene of Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

DAY THREE: SAMMY RIVERA'S STORY

4:38 p.m.
Judge Barry Donalty has adjourned court for the day, and the results from the blood DNA analysis will likely be discussed further on Friday.

Forensic scientists testify about DNA analysis

4:23 p.m.
Stacy Rack, a sirologist for the NY state police, also analyzed evidence related to the shooting death of Officer Tom Lindsey.

On April 19, Rack said she tested several DNA swabs collected by the Utica Police Department.

At one point, Rack is explaining something and then she asks what the rest of the question was.

In response, prosecutor Michael Coluzza said he forgot the question too, which was followed by laughter in the courtroom.

Then Coluzza recalled the question, which was the purpose of a specific leucomalachite green test for blood and how it is conducted.

Rack said she ran such tests for blood on samples from Sammy Rivera's ear, several bottles of Red Bull found in Rivera's red Neon, as well as from Rivera's Batlimore Orioles jersey, Whinnie the Pooh sweater, and a sneaker.

4:02 p.m.
Tanika Warden, a forensic scientist for the New York State Police, has taken the stand, and will likely discuss DNA results related to Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting death.

As Warden explained her scientific credentials and experience, Wesly Molina-Cirino's Spanish interpretor, Tony Colon, repeatedly asks her to slow down so he can translate her technical terms.

On April 13, Warden said she performed an analysis of blood found on the red Neon Sammy Rivera was driving when Officer Tom Lindsey was shot.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Rack said samples of blood were found inside the door jam of the red Neon that Sammy Rivera was driving.

That blood, however, could not be seen until the car door was opened.

3:52 p.m.
Chubby Muhammad is being translated from Arabic to English to describe seeing Sammy Rivera at the Cornhill Market the day Officer Tom Lindsey was killed.

Muhammad said Rivera picked him up at the Cornhill Market around 8:30 p.m. and took him immediately to his residence at 8:50 p.m.

Rivera had a 2-year-old child with him at the time, and the child was awake, he said.

3:17 p.m.
Michelle Agosto is currently on the stand to describe her cell phone ringing while she was at church on John Street with Sammy Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, at the time Officer Tom Lindsey was killed.

Rivera called Agosto's cell phone while he was in a traffic stop with Lindsey, and Agosto told Diaz that Rivera was calling.

The third time the phone rang, Agosto opened the phone quickly, said "I'm in church," then she shut it right away.

About 15 minutes later, Rivera arrived at the church and he was crying, Agosto said.

She asked if he was OK, and Rivera said yes. Then he walked over to Diaz, and she shouted "What?!" really loud.

Agosto told Diaz not to go outside, and Diaz shouted, "My child! My child! My child!"

When Agosto went outside, she saw a police officer pointing his weapon at Rivera and Diaz, telling them to get on the ground.

Diaz's mother came out and tried to open the red Neon's back door to check on the baby, but she couldn't, Agosto said. Then police arrived.

Aogosto later checked her messages on her cell phone, and that's when she heard Rivera talking to somebody, she said. Someone asked Rivera who he was calling, and Rivera said he was calling somebody at church, Agosto said.

When Agosto realized that it sounded like Rivera was talking to a police officer in the message, then she turned the phone over to the police.

Aogosto also said that her husband, William Cepada, used to cut Lindsey's hair at a barbershop he used to own on James Street.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Wittman asked Agosto whether she overheard Diaz tell her mother, "They hurt someone" after Lindsey's shooting.

Agosto repeated that that's what she thought she heard Diaz say.

Even though Rivera said he only saw one person shoot Lindsey, Wittman is arguing the possibility that more people were involved in Lindsey's death.

Defense questions Sammy Rivera

3:15 p.m.
Sammy Rivera has left the stand.

3 p.m.
Sammy Rivera continues to emphasize that he waited so long to tell police that Wesley Molina-Cirino shot Officer Tom Lindsey because he feared for himself and his family.

"I'm very sorry for what happened, but my family came first," Rivera said.

Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman noted that Rivera got a good look of the gun that was pointed at him after Lindse was shot.

"I don't know what kind of gun it was," Rivera quickly said.

But, Wittman asked, "It was so close you could make an observation about the fingers on the gun?"

Rivera had said the fingers were bony, long and skinny, but he again said he did not see the gun.

However, Wittman noted that Rivera told Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara during a grand jury proceeding that the gun was a clip-gun, not a revolver.

In exchange for that grand jury testimony, Rivera said his drug charges were dismissed, and that was it. Rivera and Noemi Diaz still haven't gotten their red Neon back, though.

When questioned again by prosecutor Laurie Lisi, Rivera said he mentioned seeing Molina-Cirino in a black Monte Carlo to his attorney, Tina Hartwell, DA Scott McNamara and Utica police Inv. Robert Kopek, as well as another investigator.

2:48 p.m.
Sammy Rivera says he deliberately avoided telling his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, that Wesley Molina-Cirino just shot a police officer.

"I didn't need them to know everything that was going on at that moment," Rivera said. Diaz was a strong woman, Rivera said, and she cares first about her family.

Wittman also asked Rivera why the two front passenger and driver's doors were open in the red Neon on John Street, and Rivera said he never opened the front passenger door.

"Nobody's going to tell me those doors were open," Rivera said. He then speculated that police officers has opened the doors while the searched the car.

And even though Rivera wasn't worried about drugs in his pocket during the traffic stop with Lindsey, Rivera said he did try to pass the drugs to his girlfriend, Diaz, as police ordered them to the ground on John Street.

"I just wanted to get rid of it," Rivera said. "Less charges for me."

Wittman asked Rivera how many times he told police he didn't know who the shooter was.

"Probably about 10,000 times," Rivera said.

Nevertheless, on April 21 Rivera told investigators that the shooter was Wesley Molina-Cirino.

1:54 p.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is now asking Sammy Rivera about seeing Wesley Molina-Cirino getting out of the black Monte Carlo on Neilson Street right shortly before Lindsey was shot.

Wittman questioned when the first time was that Rivera ever testified in court about this observation.

Today, Rivera said. However, Rivera said he previously told investigators about this.

But this observation does not appear in any of Rivera's previous written police statements either, Rivera said.

At this point, Wittman asked to speak with Judge Barry Donalty and prosecutors for a moment.

Then she changed the subject, and began questioning Rivera about the events of April 12.

Wittman is asking Rivera to recall every stop he made from the time he dropped off his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, to the time Officer Tom Lindsey pulled him over on the 1100 block of Neilson Street.

During the several hours in between, Rivera said he was buying and selling drugs, stopping at some stores, and giving people rides back to their homes.

And all this time, Rivera says he never left Diaz's son, 2-year-old Luis, in the car during any of those stops.

But then after driving six blocks from a friend's house, young Luis was sound asleep in the backseat of Rivera's red Neon, Rivera said.

Wittman emphasized that issue by asking Rivera if Luis was "dead asleep."

"Dead asleep," Rivera said.

"That fast?" Wittman asked.

"That fast," Rivera said, and then he explained that Luis was really tired that night.

Rivera also said that he was worried about a seatbelt ticket from about three weeks ago, and that's why he falsely gave Lindsey his brother's name, Ismael.

Rivera didn't think about the open container warrant Ismael had from 2005, and neither did Rivera worry about the drugs he had in his pockets or that he didn't have a driver's license.

"What can they give me?" Rivera said. "A misdemeanor? Maybe a drug program?"

That comment made several people in the courtroom laugh.

When Rivera got out of the red Neon during the traffic stop to fix Luis's baby seat in the back seat, Wittman expressed suprise that Lindsey only said, "I'll be right with you."

"He didn't tell you to get back into the car?" Wittman asked, to which Rivera said no.

After Lindsey was shot, Rivera said he saw gun and saw the shooter look to the back seat, where Luis was sleeping. Then Rivera lowered his head and drove off toward John Street.

Two days earlier, Rivera said he gave Molina-Cirino a ride to 1309 Neilson St., where Rivera saw many of the people Wittman believe may have been involved in Lindsey's shooting death, including Jose Cirino and a man named "Mejon."

But Rivera said he was not at 1309 Neilson St. on April 12, the day Lindsey was killed.

Sammy Rivera takes the stand

12:40 p.m.
Sammy Rivera has just pointed to Wesley Molina-Cirino in the courtroom and identified him as "Flaco," the man he saw shoot Officer Tom Lindsey.

Court has now adjourned for lunch, and defense attorney Rebecca Wittman will have her turn to question Rivera when testimony resumes around 2 p.m.

Moments ago, prosecutors also played a recorded message that was left on Michelle Augusto's cell phone while Lindsey was talking to Rivera.

Rivera had tried to call Augusto in order to tell his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, that he had been stopped by a police officer.

But Augusto did not answer the phone, and the recorded message captured mostly inadubile sounds of Rivera and Lindsey talking with each other.

12:27 p.m.
Sammy Rivera said Wesley Molina-Cirino had made threatening comments about Officer Thomas Lindsey several months before the patrolman would be shot.

"This (expletive) is going to get it one day," Rivera recalled Molina-Cirino saying in January 2007.

Rivera said Molina-Cirino was talking about police and specifically had a nickname for Lindsey: "El gordito blanco," which means "chubby white dude" in Spanish.

"He was always being harassed, watching him," Rivera said about Molina-Cirino's attitude toward Lindsey.

Earlier in his testimony, Rivera said that Molina-Cirino was always "good with kids." That may be a part of the prosecution's arguments related to Molina-Cirino's reaction after he shot Lindsey and saw Diaz's 2-year-old son in the red Neon's backseat.

On the day of Lindsey's shooting, Rivera said Molina-Cirino had asked Rivera for a ride, but Rivera said he turned Molina-Cirino down.

Then after 7 p.m. that night, Rivera said he was coming out of the Cornhill Market when he saw Molina-Cirino jump into a black Monte Carlo car with several other people.

After Rivera was pulled over by Lindsey on the 1100 block of Neilson Street, Rivera said he saw that same black car again.

The black Monte Carlo passed Lindsey and Rivera, and stopped at the corner of Mortimer and Neilson Streets, Rivera said.

Then Rivera said he saw Molina-Cirino jump out of the car while Rivera was talking to Lindsey.

Two other Utica police officers also passed Lindsey, and moments later Rivera said he saw Molina-Cirino shoot Lindsey.

12:15 p.m.
Sammy Rivera said that he first met Wesley Molina-Cirino a few years ago when Rivera was working at the Cornhill Market.

"We started as friends little by little," Rivera said. "Everything was alright."

But their friendship began to fall apart in early 2007, Rivera said.

Molina-Cirino was living with Rivera and his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, early that year when Rivera said he asked Molina-Cirino to leave because he wanted more privacy with his family.

Molina-Cirino left at that time, Rivera said.

Molina-Cirino, however, started spreading rumors about Diaz's dating and sexual behavior, Rivera said.

Rivera confronted Molina-Cirino about those rumors in February 2007 at a house belonging to a mutual acquaintance named "Spider."

Rivera recalled telling Molina-Cirino, "This is my woman right now. You can't be putting her down."

Molina-Cirino then said to Rivera, "You're a dead man walking," Rivera testified.

Since that time, Rivera and Molina-Cirino would occasionally only acknowledge each ohter in passing.

"Everything just went down the drain," Rivera said.

12:06 p.m.
After Sammy Rivera was brought to the police station, he told prosecutors that Utica police began to blame him for shooting Officer Tom Lindsey.

And then police beat him for about an hour, Rivera said.

"Blaming me, punching me, choking me," Rivera siad. At one point his earring was knocked out during the beating, he said.

"I was just trying to cover my face," Rivera said. "I screamed out, 'Give me a lie detector test.'"

But when Rivera gave police a statement on April 13, he did not mention Molina-Cirino.

"I didn't trust anybody," Rivera said.

Rivera was arrested for drug possession that night, and he initially was reluctant to talk to his attorney, Tina Hartwell, about the shooting. But soon Rivera opened up to Hartwell and shared what he knew.

That's when he first named Molina-Cirino as the suspect, Rivera said. Rivera then met with police on April 21 and gave them a new statement.

11:59 a.m.
As Sammy Rivera recalls the night Officer Tom Lindsey was shot, Rivera said he ran into a church on John Street to tell his girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, about what had happened.

Then the two ran outside while Diaz was screaming at Rivera, he said. She was nervous about her 2-year-old son, who was still sound asleep in the backseat of the red Neon.

When police arrived, Rivera said a guy in a white hoodie shot the officer and that he didn't do it.

But Rivera did not name Molina-Cirino as the shooter at that time, he said.

"Why not?" prosecutor Laurie Lisi asked.

"I was afraid for my family," Rivera said. "I'm not going to let anybody hurt my family."

Rivera was then taken into custody and brough to the Utica Police Department.

11:14 a.m.
Jurors will now hear what Sammy Rivera has to say about the night Officer Tom Lindsey stopped his red Neon on Neilson Street moments before Lindsey was shot.

Rivera, who has a shaved head and a tightly-shaved beard along his jawline, said he's been dating Noemi Diaz for about 2 1/2 years.

Then recalling April 12, the day Lindsey died, Rivera said he dropped Diaz off at church on John Street at 7 p.m. and went to see some friends.

After meeting with various friends, Rivera said one of his friends, "Gotti," asked for an 8-ball of cocaine, Rivera said.

Rivera then got the drugs from a dealer named "Jay" and brought the drugs to "Gotti" at a house on James Street that belonged to someone named "Spider."

Gotti paid Rivera $140 for the drugs, then Rivera said he went to pick up a friend called "Chubby" at the Cornhill Market. Rivera said he gave "Chubby" a ride to his West Utica home.

Rivera stopped to see "Spider" again on James Street, but "Spider" wasn't home, he said. Rivera then bought some marijuana at that point, he said.

Rivera said he was then driving to the John Street church when he rolled through a stop sign on Eagle Street.

That's when Lindsey pulled him over, Rivera said.

When Lindsey asked for his license and registration, Rivera gave his brother Ismael's name because he was worried about a seatbelt ticket he got several weeks ago. Ismael Rivera lived out of state, Rivera said.

During that time, Rivera said he saw two police officers drive by and Lindsey said everything was OK. Rivera said he looked at one of the officers, but he turned away when the second officer passed.

After Lindsey returned to Rivera's car, Lindsey said Ismael Rivera had a warrant for an open container. But instead of ticketing Rivera, Lindsey said he would follow Rivera to the church and allow him to pay a $100 fine.

"He said, 'I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for the baby," Rivera recalled Lindsey saying.

Then Rivera heard a noise and Lindsey flinched, Rivera said. As Lindsey grabbed for his gun, Rivera said he heard 3 or 4 gunshots ring out.

Lindsey when collapsed, Rivera said.

"When I looked, I had a gun pointed toward my face," Rivera said as his voice became tense.

Rivera noticed the gunman's hands had long, bony and skinny fingers, he said. Then Rivera looked at the shooter "eye to eye."

"Who did you recognize that person to be?" prosecutor Laurie Lisi asked.

Rivera then stared at Molina-Cirino and said, "Wesley Molina."

Also known as "Flaco," a name Rivera gave Molina-Cirino in 2004, he said.

Interpreting blood stains

11:06 a.m.
Adrian Grenier, a New York State Police crime scene specialist, just finished narrating an animated slide show that shows the possible positions Officer Tom Lindsey may have been shot from.

By evaluating blood stains on the red Neon that Lindsey had stopped, it seemed most likely that Lindsey was shot either from behind while the gunman was in line with the driver's door, or in various positions to toward the rear driver's side of the vehicle, Grenier said.

After he was shot, Lindsey then likely collapsed to his knees and fell onto the car, Grenier said. Then as the vehicle drove away, Lindsey's body likely swiped against the side of the car until he landed on his back.

Grenier, however, could not say exactly in what position Lindsey was standing when he got shot.

10:45 a.m.
After Adrian Grenier finishes his testimony, Sammy Rivera is expected to be called to the stand to testify about witnessing Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting.

10:41 a.m.
Adrian Grenier, a certified crime scene specialist with the New York State Police, has been on the stand discussing his expertise in blood-stain interpretation and crime scene analysis.

After viewing Officer Tom Lindsey's body during an autopsy, Grenier said it appeared that Lindsey was shot with a high-powered weapon at very close range.

Grenier is also preparing to discuss possible positions in which Lindsey and the shooter may have been standing at the time of the shooting.

Testing for gunshot residue

9:57 a.m.
Forensic expert Elana Foster just said test results found no indication of gunshot residue on various parts of Sammy Rivera's hands following Officer Tom Lindsey's shooting.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Foster said she was not of whether Rivera washed his hands before the gunshot residue samples were taken.

Foster said it is "quite possible" that any evidence of gunshot residue could have been removed if Rivera's hands were washed before sampling.

Since it was raining the night Lindsey was shot, the rain could also have had an impact on the amount of gunshot residue left on someone's hand after firing a gun, Foster said.

But because Foster said her forensic department has never tested gun firing in rainy conditions, she was unable to say what kind of difference the rain would make in gunshot residue detection.

9:33 a.m.
Today's first witness is Elana Foster, a manager of the forensic science department at the R.G. Lee Group in Pennsylvania.

Foster is about to discuss the results of gunshot residue, or GSR, analysis related to Officer Tom Lindsey's death.

Foster explained for jurors that gunshot residue particles consist of three elements, barium, lead and antimony, that are fused together and expelled in a plume from the gun as its fired.

Those elements can then be detected on the hand of someone who fired the gun, or on clothes or anything in the area of the gun after it was fired, she told prosecutor Michael Coluzza.

9:06 a.m.
Witness testimony is expected to resume today in Judge Barry Donalty's courtroom around 9:30 a.m., but it is uknown at this point who will be called as the first witnesses today.

It is believed, however, that Sammy Rivera will testify later today about the Neilson Street traffic stop that ended with Officer Tom Lindsey's death.

Jose Cirino may also be callled as a witness, a person Wesley Molina-Cirino initially suggested may have been responsible for Lindsey's death. Investigators, however, quickly ruled out Cirino as a suspect.

Cirino came to be known when police searched Rivera's residence after Lindsey's death. Police were looking for pictures of Rivera's friends, and in one photo they saw Rivera with Cirino, according to prior testimony.

Molina-Cirino's defense attorney, Rebecca Wittman, is arguing that Rivera knows more about Lindsey's shooting than he has already told police, including the possibility that another person was in the red Neon with Rivera when Lindsey pulled him over.

When Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, testified Wednesday, she raised some questions about the prior relationship between RIvera and Molina-Cirino.

Diaz said Rivera and Molina-Cirino used to be "very good friends" before Molina-Cirino moved in with them on Seymour Avenue and started rumors that he was going out with Diaz. Molina-Cirino and Diaz previously dated on-and-off for about a month, Diaz said.

Rivera got upset and kicked Molina-Cirino out of their apartment.

Sometime after that, Lindsey would be killed during a traffic stop involving Rivera, and Rivera would eventually point the finger of blame at Molina-Cirino.

But despite that mutual relationship they shared, Rivera hysterically told his girlfriend Diaz that "somebody" shot a police officer in front of him moments of Lindsey's shooting.

Wittman wondered why Rivera would have told his girlfriend that "somebody" shot the officer, instead of naming Molina-Cirino, since they were both well aware of who Molina-Cirino was.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

DAY TWO: SAMMY RIVERA'S GIRLFRIEND

Sammy Rivera's girlfriend takes stand

4:25 p.m.
Court has adjourned for the day, and witness testimony will resume at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

4:08 p.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is questioning Noemi Diaz, and she asked Diaz to recall the exact words that Sammy Rivera said when he came running in to find her at a church on John Street.

"Ma, I got stopped and somebody shot a cop in front of me," Diaz recalled Rivera saying hysterically.

Wittman wanted Diaz to be certain that Rivera said "somebody" shot the officer, and that Rivera never mentioned "Flaco" shot the officer. Diaz repeated that Rivera said "somebody," not "Flaco."

It appears that Wittman is questioning why Rivera wouldn't have identified "Flaco" as the shooter to Diaz, if they both were closely acquainted with Molina-Cirino.

Diaz also said that Rivera was wearing a leather jacket when he came into the church after Lindsey's shooting, yet police chose not to test that jacket for gunshot residue, according to testimony earlier today.

Rivera was also wearing a baseball cap at that point, Diaz said.

When Diaz was questioned by police April 16, they asked her who she thinks could have shot Lindsey, she said. Diaz replied by suggesting that police talk to all of the Rivera's friends in her cell phone, she told Wittman.

When Diaz also talked to police on April 15, Diaz said she talked with Utica police Inv. Steve White. Wittman then asked if Diaz had ever told White that Rivera said either that he or someone shot the officer.

"The officer was confusing me that day," Diaz said.

She also said she only recalls Rivera shouting "a guy in a white hoodie did it," despite prior witnesses that said Rivera said "a black guy in a white hoodie did it."

Diaz said she wasn't sure if Rivera was going to be charged with killing Lindsey, but she knew that Rivera had drugs on him.

When the two of them were lying on the ground with police on John Street, Diaz said Rivera tried to get her to take his drugs, but she wouldn't.

Wittman then said she had no further questions for Diaz, but Wittman never asked Diaz about her prior relationship with Molina-Cirino.

Wittman also did not ask Diaz to elaborate on how the friendship between Rivera and Molina-Cirino deteriorated sometime before Lindsey's death.

4:02 p.m.
Noemi Diaz just confirmed that she used to date Wesley Molina-Cirino for about a month in October 2006 before she started dating Sammy Rivera.

Diaz also knew Molina-Cirino's nickname to be "Flaco," meaning "skinny" in Spanish.

Molina-Cirino once lived with Diaz and Rivera at their Seymour Avenue residence starting in December 2006 and into 2007, sometime near the date of Tom Lindsey's death.

Up until that point, "They were really good friends," Diaz said of Molina-Cirino and Rivera.

But then that friendship soured, Diaz said.

"He started rumors that we were going out," Diaz said of Molina-Cirino. "I guess Sammy got mad and said he couldn't stay anymore."

3:30 p.m.
Sammy Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, 31, is currently on the stand.

Diaz had been dating Rivera for a little more than a year at the time Officer Tom Lindsey was killed, and they both lived at 1676 Seymour Ave.

Earlier on April 12, Diaz said Rivera left around 4:30 p.m. with Diaz's brother-in-law to try and find someone to fix the muffler on his red Neon. Rivera came back home around 6:30 p.m. and ate before falling asleep.

Shortly after, Diaz left for church on John Street and Diaz left her cell phone with Rivera.

Around 9:15 p.m., Diaz's friend said that Rivera had been calling her cell phone.

The woman opened the cell phone, and just said, "We're in church," then she quickly closed the phone without talking. Rivera called back, but they didn't answer the phone that time, Diaz said.

Minutes later, Rivera came into the church and said he had been stopped and "a cop was shot," Diaz told prosecutor Laurie Lisi said.

Rivera was hysterical and crying, Diaz said. Diaz then went outside to check on her son, who was still in Rivera's car.

Rivera was walking back and forth, and Diaz said she was yelling at Rivera, "Why didn't you stay? What happened?"

"He was crying, shaking," Diaz recalled, and Rivera said he left for his safety and the baby's safety.

And that's when the police arrived on John Street, she said.

When the officer arrived and pointed his gun at them, Diaz said, Rivera shouted he had nothing to do with it and a man in a white hoodie did it.

Diaz and Rivera were then handcuffed, and the officer found marijuana and cocaine on Rivera, she said.

At this point, Diaz'a mother came out screaming, "She's been in church all night," Diaz recalled. Diaz's mother was also taken into custody, she said.

Diaz then gave a police statement around 1 p.m. April 13, and she was released at 5:30 p.m. that day.

But about 3:30 a.m., police took Diaz to her Seymour Avenue house with a SWAT team and went in to get pictures. They also asked her to sign a waiver to search her apartment and the red Neon, she said.

"They were looking to see if we had hidden the person who shot the cop," Diaz said.

And, she added, "They wanted photographs of Sammy's friends." Police took a picture from 2006 of Rivera and several other people.

3:19 p.m.
Sammy Rivera's girlfriend, Noemi Diaz, is about to take the stand to testify about the events surrounding Officer Tom Lindsey's death.

Prosecutors have told the media that Diaz cannot be photographed.

Diaz is also Wesley Molina-Cirino's ex-girlfriend.

Neilson Street witnesses

3:03 p.m.
Milek Jefferson's brother, Alfonso Jefferson, 19, said he was with his girlfriend on Eagle Street when he heard three gunshots the night of April 12.

Because Alfonso Jefferson lives on Neilson Street, he was concerned about his family and started to head to Neilson Street, he told prosecutor Michael Coluzza.

Alfonso Jefferson said he first saw someone on a bicycle wearing glasses and a baseball hat who said there was a shooting on Neilson Street.

Then about 45 seconds after Alfonso Jefferson heard the gunshots, that's when he saw somebody running down Neilson Street and across Eagle Street.

"He was a tall person, with a white hoodie and dark jeans," but the hoodie was down and flapping, Alfonso Jefferson said.

Alfonso Jefferson said the person he saw running had dark skin, but he could not identify the race of that individual.

He didn't tell police about what he saw until the day after the shooting, he said.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, she asked how Alfonso Jefferson could be sure the man he saw running had dark skin if they were a block away from each other.

Alfonso Jefferson said the area was poorly lit, so the individual's skin looked dark.

2:41 p.m.
When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Milek Jefferson, 17, recalled how he described the suspect to police about 12 hours after Officer Tom Lindsey was killed.

In his April 13 statement, Jefferson said the person he saw running was a black male, in his late teens or early 20s, and that he was wearing a jacket with the hood up. The person didn't appear to have anything in his hands, he said.

While talking with police, Jefferson said he helped them draw a diaghram of the shooting scene and a sketch of what the running person looked like.

Wittman then showed Jefferson the police statement he gave police on April 13, to see if he can find where he said the person he saw running was "tall and skinny."

But those such words do not appear in Jefferson's original description to police, Jefferson said. He did not initially tell police he was "tall and skinny," until today.

Prosecutor Laurie Lisi then asked Jefferson to clarify whether he could actually tell the race of the person he saw.

"Did you assume he was black because it was Neilson Street?" Lisi asks..

"Yes," Jefferson said.

If the individual was ever in the red Neon, Jefferson did not see him get out of the vehicle, he told Lisi.

2:30 p.m.
Sheila Zigler's son, Milek Jefferson, 17, followed his mother to the stand to testify about the moments surrounding Officer Tom Lindsey's death outside his residence.

After Jefferson heard three gunshots in a row, he looked out his window and saw a red car speeding off toward Mortimer and South streets.

The car was speeding off and someone was running the opposite way," toward Eagle Street and South Utica, Jefferson said.

"He was tall, skinny," Jefferson said, and he was wearing a white hoodie.

But Jefferson did not see his face, he told prosecutor Laurie Lisi. Jefferson then watched the red car turn onto South Street.

2:22 p.m.
Sheila Zigler, who lived at 1130 Neilson St., said she woke up when she heard three gunshots go off the night of April 12.

"I jumped up and my first instinct was, 'Is everybody in the house?'" Zigler told prosecutor Laurie Lisi.

When she looked outside, Zigler said she noticed a police car.

Then Zigler said, "Oh, there's a cop already out there," she recalled. But then Zigler noticed a police officer laying on the ground, so she called 911.

Zigler did not see anybody else outside, and she did not look up or down the street, she said.

When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Zigler said she did not see anyone standing on the porch of 1127 Neilson St.

1:56 p.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman continues to question Officer Greg Facciolo about testing Sammy Rivera and his clothes for gun powder residue.

Wittman is wondering why police did not test Rivera's leather jacket for gun powder.

Facciolo also said that he asked state police investigators if they could test Rivera's red Neon for gunshot residue, but that was never done.

The two front seat in the red Neon were also in highly reclined positions, Facciolo said.

A video tape was also retrieved from the Cornhill Market, but Facciolo said the quality was poor. When questioned by Wittman, Facciolo said he did not see any images of a red Neon or Sammy Rivera in that video tape.

Facciolo said about 50 videotapes were collected in this case and viewed by investigators.

12:46 p.m.
Court has adjourned for a lunch break until 1:55 p.m., at which point defense attorney Rebecca Wittman will continue to question Officer Gregory Facciolo about testing Sammy Rivera's clothing.

Sammy Rivera and the red Dodge Neon

12:22 p.m.
Officer Gregory Facciolo was also asked by the District Attorney's Office to determine how long it would have taken for someone to walk, fast-walk, and run from the 1100 block of Neilson Street to 1309 Neilson St.

Facciolo said he had two officers, similiar in stature to Wesley Molina, walk and fast-walk the distance of these two city blocks on March 6. Then they were both asked to run, he said.

When asked how long it would have taken, Judge Barry Donalty said he would not allow Facciolo's answer because it was "speculation."

12:18 p.m.
Officer Gregory Facciolo said the state police forensic lab tested materials worn by Sammy Rivera the night Tom Lindsey was shot.

Those items included a Baltimore Orioles jersey, a gray Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt, and a NY Yankees baseball hat. But a black leather jacket was not tested following an investigative decision, perhaps because Rivera was not wearing it, Facciolo said.

12:10 p.m.
Officer Gregory Facciolo went on to describe taking pictures of Wesley Molina-Cirino at the Utica Police Station after he was arrested in June.

"He is very tall, and very, very skinny," Facciolo said.

Facciolo said he particularly took photographs of Molina-Cirino's hands, and prosecutor Michael Coluzza asked if he noticed anything about the defendant's hands.

"He has long, skinny, bony fingers," Facciolo said.

Then in October, Facciolo examined the red Neon again and noticed that it's internal dome light did not turn on. The rear passenger side door was also locked with a child lock, so any rear seat passenger would have been unable to get out, he said.

11:51 a.m.
Officer Gregory Facciolo is describing how Sammy Rivera was tested for gunshot residue at the Utica Police Department after Tom Lindsey was killed.

The test would be performed to determine whether Rivera may have shot Lindsey during a traffic stop involving the red Neon Rivera says he was driving.

Facciolo then examined the red Neon that Lindsey stopped, he said.

Prosecutor Michael Coluzza then asked Facciolo about photographs he had taken of the red Neon.

As the photographs were displayed to jurors, Facciolo pointed to evidence that Lindsey was shot alongside the driver's side of the vehicle. There was also a streak along the side of the driver's side door, he said.

Inside the red Neon, the front passenger seat was pushed as far back as it could go, leaving barely any room for somebody to have sat directly behind that seat, Facciolo said. A child's seat was also located in the back seat, he said.

This may be significant because defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is arguing that there may have been more people seated in Rivera's Neon at the time he was stopped by Lindsey.

Looking for bullet casings

11:44 a.m.
Officer Dominic Nitti tells defense attorney Rebecca Wittman that the fact no bullet casings were found at the crime scene led police to make a conclusion about the type of weapon used to kill Tom Lindsey.

"We assume it was a revolver that was used," Nitti said.

11:28 a.m.
Defense attorney Rebecca Wittman is currently cross-examining Officer Dominic Nitti about the crime scene.

Nitti says the information on Tom Lindsey's patrol vehicle computer indicated there was an open container "arrest" warrant for Ismael Rivera, the name Sammy Rivera gave to Lindsey during the traffic stop.

Wittman then asked Nitti what would normally happen if somebody was located and they were named in an arrest warrant.

"It means at this point he should be arrested and brought to jail," Nitti said.

Wittman also asked whether bullet casings may not be found on the ground if a semi-automatic weapon was fired from inside a vehicle. Nitti said yes, that could be true.

11:04 a.m.
Officer Dominic Nitti used Officer Tom Lindseys semi-automatic police handgun to demonstrate how that type of gun would be fired, and how a spent casing would be removed.

Nitti also showed how a spent casing would have to manually be removed from a revolver after it was fired.

After searching the scene of Lindsey's shooting, police did not find any spent casings or projectiles that may be related to Lindsey's death, Nitti said.

Police then spent the next several days using medical detectors to search for projectiles or shell casings, Nitti explained. Lines of about 25 police officers also walked the street to search for evidence of gunfire as well, but nothing was found.

Anytime a bullet hole was found in a house on the 1100 block of Neilson Street, police would search the holes for projectiles, but nothing was found, Nitti said.

Then for a total of 15 days between April 24 and May 18, police searched the Mohawk River, the Barge Canal and the Pier Harbor in North Utica based on information that a handgun was thrown into a waterway, Nitti said.

While Wesley Molina-Cirino was incarcerated at the Onondaga County jail for an unrelated drug charge in April, he provided information to investigators that the gun used to shoot Lindsey may have been dumped in one of those waterways.

10:33 a.m.
Utica police Officer Dominic Nitti is on the stand, as a crime scene investigtor and firearms expert.

At prosecutor Michael Coluzza's request, Nitti stood up and used a pointer to identify certain items on a large graphic display of the shooting scene.

A drawing of Lindsey's patrol vehicle 57 is seen parked on Neilson Street.

Nitti said evidence of Lindsey's shooting was found in the roadway near the intersection of Neilson and Mortimer streets, 13 feet in front of Lindsey's vehicle.

A red tarp can be seen propped up on Neilson Street near the corner of Mortimer Street covering that evidence, since it was raining, Nitti said.

Nitti also is describing photographs of the inside of Lindsey's patrol computer in his vehicle, which displays the results of a search warrant for Ismael Rivera.

Ismael Rivera is the brother of Sammy Rivera, and that's the name Sammy Rivera falsely gave Lindsey to identify himself after he was stopped.

10:26 a.m.
Jurors have just been shown photographs of Tom Lindsey's head wound, but the pictures were not displayed for the courtroom.

One juror could be seen wiping her eyes as they passed the pictures to each other.

10:22 a.m.
When questioned by defense attorney Rebecca Wittman, Dr. Michael Sikirica said he could not be certain of the type of weapon and caliber that was used to kill Tom Lindsey.

The bullet wound was consistent with either a revolver, a rifle, and a semi-automatic weapon, but a fully automatic weapon could not be ruled out.

Sikirica, however, could rule out that Lindsey was shot with a shotgun, he said.

10:16 a.m.
Prosecutor Laurie Lisi is currently showing Dr. MIchael Sikirica photographs of Tom Lindsey's gunshot wound.

Lisi then displayed a photograph of a red car door, and Sikirica identified fragments on the door as brain and flesh matter from the bullet exiting the left side of Lindsey's head.

10:08 a.m.
Dr. Michael Sikirica said that Tom Lindsey was shot from about 2 to 3 feet away, based on gun powder "tattooing" burns to Lindsey's head.

Lindsey was also shot with a large caliber gun, either a .45, .40, .44, or .357, Sikirica said.

"He would have dropped unconscious immediately," Sikirica said, then brain damage would have quickly set in.

9:47 a.m.
Wesley Molina-Cirino has just been walked out by court deputies, and he's taken a seat between his attorney, Rebecca Wittman, and Spanish intepretor Tony Colon.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica has also been called to the stand to describe how Officer Tom Lindsey was killed.

Sikirica told prosecutor Laurie Lisi that he has performed well over 6,000 autopsies, including 400 to 500 gunshot wounds. Of that amount, Sikirica said about 50 percent have been gunshot wounds to the head.

On April 13, Sikirica said he performed an autopsy on Lindsey at St. Elizabeth Medical Center the day after he was killed.

Lindsey suffered a gunshot entrance wound to the right side of his head above his ear, with a larger 2-inch exit wound on the left of Lindsey's head, Sikirica said.

Sikirica said he also found a pattern of powered "tattooing" near the entrance wound on the right side of Lindsey's head, which are small flecks of burned skin around the bullet wound.

Powdered tatttoo can help determine how close the gun was fired to Lindsey's head.

Sikirica also discovered a great deal of damage and hemorraging to Lindsey's brain.

Although no complete bullet was recovered from Lindsey's head, Sikirica did locate a small fragment of the metallic jacket surrounding the projectile that passed through Lindsey's brain.

Sikirica then concluded that Lindsey died as a result of skull fractures and brain injuries from a gunshot wound to the head, he said.

9:18 a.m.
Prosecutors are expected to call forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica as the day's first witness.

Sikirica will likely describe the fatal gunshot wound to Lindsey's head, and prosecutors may display graphic autopsy photos of Lindsey's injury.

9:15 a.m.
The second day of testimony in the trial of Wesley Molina-Cirino is expected to begin shortly in Oneida County Court.

Several Utica police officers have already arrived in support of Officer Tom Lindsey, and Utica police Chief C. Allen Pylman has been standing in the courtroom foyer as people come and go.

Lindsey's girlfriend, Lisa Karpowich, has already shown up well to continue hearing testimony.

During Tuesday's testimony, Karpowich was one of the many people brought to tears as Lindsey's voice was heard in a police radio transmission recording that was played for jurors.

: Name: Rocco LaDuca; Location: Clinton, New York

I moved to the Utica area from Buffalo in 2004 after graduating with a master's degree from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication. Everybody has a story, and I just like trying to tell it.

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