New Jersey
Ex-officer sentenced to 27 years in shooting death of driver, wounding of passenger in 2019 chase
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A former New Jersey police officer has been sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison in the shooting death of one man and the wounding of another during a high-speed car chase 5 1/2 years ago in the city of Newark.
Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin, citing a need to deter officers from what he called a “shoot-first, ask-questions-later” mentality, sentenced former Newark officer Jovanny Crespo on Friday to 20 years for aggravated manslaughter and seven years for aggravated assault in the January 2019 chase, NJ.com reported.
Those sentences will run consecutively; the judge imposed six-year official misconduct terms that will run concurrently to the other sentences. NJ.com reported that 31-year-old Crespo sunk back into his chair and members of his family wept as the judge told him he would not be eligible for parole for 22 years and 11 months.
Earlier, Crespo wept as his mother and sister begged for leniency. He later stood to briefly apologize to the victims’ families.
Dashboard and police body camera video from the chase showed Crespo jumping out of his patrol car and firing three times during the pursuit. Essex County prosecutors said state guidelines allow deadly force only if the officer or someone else is in “imminent danger” of death or serious bodily harm.
Defense attorney Isaac Wright Jr. had sought leniency, telling the judge that Crespo had less than two years on the job and had been poorly trained, and superiors should have called off the January 2019 chase. Prosecutors said he had trained at the police academy for more than six months and was schooled on the proper use of deadly force.
Ravin agreed, calling the defendant “extensively trained” and saying the five-minute chase through Newark that ended in the death of 46-year-old driver Gregory Griffin and left his passenger critically wounded was “an abhorrent abuse of police power.”
New York
Woman pleads guilty to negligent homicide in death of anti-gang activist
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A New York woman has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the 2018 death of an anti-gang activist during a dispute over a memorial for the activist’s slain daughter.
Annmarie Drago, 63, of Patchogue, entered the plea Friday in a Long Island courtroom and is expected to be sentenced to five years of probation, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 1.
Authorities said Drago struck Evelyn Rodriguez with her vehicle and then drove over her in Brentwood in September 2018, killing the 50-year-old activist.
The two were involved in confrontation after Drago had removed items from a memorial Rodriguez had set up in front of Drago’s mother’s house to mark the two-year anniversary of the discovery of the body of Rodriguez’s daughter, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, prosecutors said.
Drago was trying to sell the house at the time and did not want the memorial to scare off buyers, prosecutors have said.
Kayla was hacked and beaten to death along with a friend in 2016. Authorities said they were killed by MS-13 street gang members in a dispute among high school students.
“Evelyn Rodriguez was still mourning the loss of her daughter when this defendant dismantled her daughter’s memorial and then struck the victim with her vehicle, ultimately causing her death,” Tierney said. “We hope this plea brings some sense of peace and closure to Ms. Rodriguez’s family, a family that has suffered multiple tragic losses.”
The plea deal with probation was approved by a judge. Tierney’s office had recommended a prison sentence of one to three years but the deal approved by the judge called for only probation.
Drago’s lawyer, Matthew Hereth, did not immediately return a message Saturday. He and Drago declined to comment after Friday’s court appearance, Newsday reported. A message seeking comment was left at a phone listing for Drago. Her previous lawyer called Rodriguez’s death a “tragic accident.”
Drago was tried twice in connection with Rodriguez’s death.
She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in 2020 and sentenced to nine months in jail, but the conviction was overturned and the judge ordered a new trial, citing prosecutorial misconduct. Her second trial ended in a mistrial last year when jurors deadlocked on a negligent homicide charge.
Rodriguez became a symbol in the fight against MS-13 gang violence after her daughter’s death.
When he was president, Donald Trump visited Brentwood and vowed a national crackdown on MS-13. He recognized Rodriguez and her daughter at his State of the Union address in January 2018.
Washington
Families of those who died in Boeing crashes press the Justice Department to prosecute the company
WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatives of passengers who died in two jetliner crashes pushed federal officials Friday to prosecute Boeing on criminal charges related to the accidents no later than this fall but said they got no commitment from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department determined two weeks ago that Boeing violated terms of a settlement that let the company avoid prosecution for deceiving regulators who approved the Boeing 737 Max. Prosecutors have said they will announce by July 7 whether the company will face sanctions.
Boeing agreed in 2021 to pay $2.5 billion — mostly compensation to airlines — to avoid prosecution on a fraud charge. Relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes have tried ever since to scuttle the settlement.
It appeared that the fraud case would be dismissed permanently. But in January, a door plug blew off a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, leading to new investigations of Boeing.
“They claimed the Max is completely safe, it’s the most-scrutinized plane ever, even as the doors blow off on the Alaska Air (Max), and they can’t blame the pilots anymore,” said Michael Stumo, whose daughter, Samya, died in the second crash.
The Justice Department declined to comment Friday but has said that Boeing violated terms of the 2021 settlement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws.
Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed instances of potential fraud. In early May, Boeing disclosed that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection reports on some 787 Dreamliner jets.
“We believe that we have honored the terms of the agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Justice Department on this issue,” a Boeing spokesperson said. They added that the company is acting “with the utmost transparency” to answer the department’s questions, including those surrounding the Alaska Airlines incident.
Ex-officer sentenced to 27 years in shooting death of driver, wounding of passenger in 2019 chase
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A former New Jersey police officer has been sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison in the shooting death of one man and the wounding of another during a high-speed car chase 5 1/2 years ago in the city of Newark.
Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin, citing a need to deter officers from what he called a “shoot-first, ask-questions-later” mentality, sentenced former Newark officer Jovanny Crespo on Friday to 20 years for aggravated manslaughter and seven years for aggravated assault in the January 2019 chase, NJ.com reported.
Those sentences will run consecutively; the judge imposed six-year official misconduct terms that will run concurrently to the other sentences. NJ.com reported that 31-year-old Crespo sunk back into his chair and members of his family wept as the judge told him he would not be eligible for parole for 22 years and 11 months.
Earlier, Crespo wept as his mother and sister begged for leniency. He later stood to briefly apologize to the victims’ families.
Dashboard and police body camera video from the chase showed Crespo jumping out of his patrol car and firing three times during the pursuit. Essex County prosecutors said state guidelines allow deadly force only if the officer or someone else is in “imminent danger” of death or serious bodily harm.
Defense attorney Isaac Wright Jr. had sought leniency, telling the judge that Crespo had less than two years on the job and had been poorly trained, and superiors should have called off the January 2019 chase. Prosecutors said he had trained at the police academy for more than six months and was schooled on the proper use of deadly force.
Ravin agreed, calling the defendant “extensively trained” and saying the five-minute chase through Newark that ended in the death of 46-year-old driver Gregory Griffin and left his passenger critically wounded was “an abhorrent abuse of police power.”
New York
Woman pleads guilty to negligent homicide in death of anti-gang activist
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A New York woman has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the 2018 death of an anti-gang activist during a dispute over a memorial for the activist’s slain daughter.
Annmarie Drago, 63, of Patchogue, entered the plea Friday in a Long Island courtroom and is expected to be sentenced to five years of probation, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 1.
Authorities said Drago struck Evelyn Rodriguez with her vehicle and then drove over her in Brentwood in September 2018, killing the 50-year-old activist.
The two were involved in confrontation after Drago had removed items from a memorial Rodriguez had set up in front of Drago’s mother’s house to mark the two-year anniversary of the discovery of the body of Rodriguez’s daughter, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, prosecutors said.
Drago was trying to sell the house at the time and did not want the memorial to scare off buyers, prosecutors have said.
Kayla was hacked and beaten to death along with a friend in 2016. Authorities said they were killed by MS-13 street gang members in a dispute among high school students.
“Evelyn Rodriguez was still mourning the loss of her daughter when this defendant dismantled her daughter’s memorial and then struck the victim with her vehicle, ultimately causing her death,” Tierney said. “We hope this plea brings some sense of peace and closure to Ms. Rodriguez’s family, a family that has suffered multiple tragic losses.”
The plea deal with probation was approved by a judge. Tierney’s office had recommended a prison sentence of one to three years but the deal approved by the judge called for only probation.
Drago’s lawyer, Matthew Hereth, did not immediately return a message Saturday. He and Drago declined to comment after Friday’s court appearance, Newsday reported. A message seeking comment was left at a phone listing for Drago. Her previous lawyer called Rodriguez’s death a “tragic accident.”
Drago was tried twice in connection with Rodriguez’s death.
She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in 2020 and sentenced to nine months in jail, but the conviction was overturned and the judge ordered a new trial, citing prosecutorial misconduct. Her second trial ended in a mistrial last year when jurors deadlocked on a negligent homicide charge.
Rodriguez became a symbol in the fight against MS-13 gang violence after her daughter’s death.
When he was president, Donald Trump visited Brentwood and vowed a national crackdown on MS-13. He recognized Rodriguez and her daughter at his State of the Union address in January 2018.
Washington
Families of those who died in Boeing crashes press the Justice Department to prosecute the company
WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatives of passengers who died in two jetliner crashes pushed federal officials Friday to prosecute Boeing on criminal charges related to the accidents no later than this fall but said they got no commitment from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department determined two weeks ago that Boeing violated terms of a settlement that let the company avoid prosecution for deceiving regulators who approved the Boeing 737 Max. Prosecutors have said they will announce by July 7 whether the company will face sanctions.
Boeing agreed in 2021 to pay $2.5 billion — mostly compensation to airlines — to avoid prosecution on a fraud charge. Relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes have tried ever since to scuttle the settlement.
It appeared that the fraud case would be dismissed permanently. But in January, a door plug blew off a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, leading to new investigations of Boeing.
“They claimed the Max is completely safe, it’s the most-scrutinized plane ever, even as the doors blow off on the Alaska Air (Max), and they can’t blame the pilots anymore,” said Michael Stumo, whose daughter, Samya, died in the second crash.
The Justice Department declined to comment Friday but has said that Boeing violated terms of the 2021 settlement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws.
Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed instances of potential fraud. In early May, Boeing disclosed that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection reports on some 787 Dreamliner jets.
“We believe that we have honored the terms of the agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Justice Department on this issue,” a Boeing spokesperson said. They added that the company is acting “with the utmost transparency” to answer the department’s questions, including those surrounding the Alaska Airlines incident.
