HankT
State Researcher
imported post
"Good family" man.....and... a goof with a gun.
Trying to solve a temporary problem with a permanent solution...
10/10/2008
Man who shot constable pleads guilty to attempted murder
By: Marlene DiGiacomo
MEDIA COURTHOUSE - Pennsylvania Constable Carmen "Skip" Damiani, who still has a bullet lodged in his body, sat somberly Friday as 21-year-old Tamarr Minor entered pleas to two counts of attempted murder for opening fire last April, when authorities tried to evict him from his Yeadon apartment.
Damiani was accompanied in court by a half dozen constables, who were wearing their gray work uniforms, as was the victim.
Damiani, of Upper Darby, who has served more than four decades in his post, declined comment, except to state he will have more to say at the time of Minor's sentencing, which was set for Dec. 23.
During the June preliminary hearing, Damiani testified he believed "I was gonna die," when he was shot on the left side of his head by Minor. "I saw a flash. I went numb," he said during that earlier hearing.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel McDevitt told Judge Ann Osborne, who accepted the pleas, that because of the fragile nature of Damiani's injury, surgeons elected not to try to remove the bullet.
The shootings occurred last April 23 as Damiani was serving a forcible eviction notice on Minor at his unit at the Parkview Court Apartments. Damiani was accompanied that day by Ted Hicks, the apartment manager, who also was wounded in the attack.
McDevitt said he will seek 20 years incarceration at the time of sentencing for Minor, who remained handcuffed while in court. The prosecutor told Osborne that Minor had tried to "pay up" what he owed in back rent just a week before, but didn't have enough money.
Following the hearing, McDevitt said Minor "knew the eviction was coming." He said the defendant sat on the couch to change his shoes and then grabbed the gun from under the couch cushions and began shooting.
"This was a totally unprovoked attack to kill two people," said McDevitt.
McDevitt said that Hicks was shot in the stomach and has undergone several surgeries, including the removal of his gall bladder this summer, when surgeons finally extracted the bullet.
Hicks was not in court. "He called me this morning and felt it wasn't necessary to be here today," said Damiani. "He will be here at the time of sentencing."
During Friday's hearing, Minor remained seated and replied with firm "yes" answers to a series of routine questions posed by Osborne as to whether his pleas were knowing and voluntary.
Friends and relatives of the defendant were clustered together in court as the pleas were entered.
Defense Attorney Lonny Fish told Osborne that he will challenge the legality of the eviction during the upcoming sentencing hearing. He will be attempting to show the shooting was not planned in an effort to have Minor receive a more lenient sentence.
The defendant faces at least five years in jail - the mandatory minimum for crimes committed with a firearm.
Fish said he will also present testimony during that hearing from a mental health expert regarding his client.
Minor, who lived alone in the third floor unit in the 2200 block of Alfred Drive, reportedly owed about $2,000 in back rent, according to authorities.
Outside the courtroom, Fish denied that Minor intended to shot anybody that day.
"It looks like he (Minor) was lying in wait, but that's not the case," said Fish. "He (Minor) didn't know they were coming to evict him. In his (Minor's) mind it could have been self-defense. But under the law he was wrong. He has taken responsibility for his actions."
Fish said that at the time Minor was "an out-of-work professional."
He said that Minor has held jobs as a financial advisor and an insurance consultant for several firms, and has had no prior brush with the law.
"He has a good family and he's accomplished a lot of things without a college degree," said Fish. "This is a case of somebody who made a really bad decision really quickly."
http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20160547&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=6
"Good family" man.....and... a goof with a gun.
Trying to solve a temporary problem with a permanent solution...
10/10/2008
Man who shot constable pleads guilty to attempted murder
By: Marlene DiGiacomo
MEDIA COURTHOUSE - Pennsylvania Constable Carmen "Skip" Damiani, who still has a bullet lodged in his body, sat somberly Friday as 21-year-old Tamarr Minor entered pleas to two counts of attempted murder for opening fire last April, when authorities tried to evict him from his Yeadon apartment.
Damiani was accompanied in court by a half dozen constables, who were wearing their gray work uniforms, as was the victim.
Damiani, of Upper Darby, who has served more than four decades in his post, declined comment, except to state he will have more to say at the time of Minor's sentencing, which was set for Dec. 23.
During the June preliminary hearing, Damiani testified he believed "I was gonna die," when he was shot on the left side of his head by Minor. "I saw a flash. I went numb," he said during that earlier hearing.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel McDevitt told Judge Ann Osborne, who accepted the pleas, that because of the fragile nature of Damiani's injury, surgeons elected not to try to remove the bullet.
The shootings occurred last April 23 as Damiani was serving a forcible eviction notice on Minor at his unit at the Parkview Court Apartments. Damiani was accompanied that day by Ted Hicks, the apartment manager, who also was wounded in the attack.
McDevitt said he will seek 20 years incarceration at the time of sentencing for Minor, who remained handcuffed while in court. The prosecutor told Osborne that Minor had tried to "pay up" what he owed in back rent just a week before, but didn't have enough money.
Following the hearing, McDevitt said Minor "knew the eviction was coming." He said the defendant sat on the couch to change his shoes and then grabbed the gun from under the couch cushions and began shooting.
"This was a totally unprovoked attack to kill two people," said McDevitt.
McDevitt said that Hicks was shot in the stomach and has undergone several surgeries, including the removal of his gall bladder this summer, when surgeons finally extracted the bullet.
Hicks was not in court. "He called me this morning and felt it wasn't necessary to be here today," said Damiani. "He will be here at the time of sentencing."
During Friday's hearing, Minor remained seated and replied with firm "yes" answers to a series of routine questions posed by Osborne as to whether his pleas were knowing and voluntary.
Friends and relatives of the defendant were clustered together in court as the pleas were entered.
Defense Attorney Lonny Fish told Osborne that he will challenge the legality of the eviction during the upcoming sentencing hearing. He will be attempting to show the shooting was not planned in an effort to have Minor receive a more lenient sentence.
The defendant faces at least five years in jail - the mandatory minimum for crimes committed with a firearm.
Fish said he will also present testimony during that hearing from a mental health expert regarding his client.
Minor, who lived alone in the third floor unit in the 2200 block of Alfred Drive, reportedly owed about $2,000 in back rent, according to authorities.
Outside the courtroom, Fish denied that Minor intended to shot anybody that day.
"It looks like he (Minor) was lying in wait, but that's not the case," said Fish. "He (Minor) didn't know they were coming to evict him. In his (Minor's) mind it could have been self-defense. But under the law he was wrong. He has taken responsibility for his actions."
Fish said that at the time Minor was "an out-of-work professional."
He said that Minor has held jobs as a financial advisor and an insurance consultant for several firms, and has had no prior brush with the law.
"He has a good family and he's accomplished a lot of things without a college degree," said Fish. "This is a case of somebody who made a really bad decision really quickly."
http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20160547&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=6
