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 On Friday Lillo Brancato Jr., who is a former actor on "The Sopranos", was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for a failed burglary in the Bronx where an accomplice shot and killed an off-duty police officer.
Sources have thrown more light on the news of Lillo Brancato Jr. A jury has acquitted Lillo Brancato Jr. of 2nd degree murder in police officer’s death. However he was convicted him of attempted burglary. He had faced up to fifteen years of imprisonment.
He pursed his lips and appeared calm as the verdict was pronounced. His relatives wept and one even shouted, "We love you, Lillo!" while he was taken away in handcuffs.
Before sentencing, Brancato, whose drug addiction figured significantly in testimony during the trial in the Bronx, begged the court for mercy.
Lillo Brancato commented, "I'm not talking about redeeming my acting career." "I'm talking about much more than that. I'm talking about being a good son, brother, friend and citizen."
However state Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus did not get swayed.
Referring Brancato's drug abuse as "a sad story of good fortune and extraordinary opportunity that was wasted and abused," Martin added, "I cannot ignore the fact that, because of the burglary, a brave young police officer is dead."
According to the prosecutors Lillo Brancato Jr. and accomplice Steven Armento were looking for drugs when they broke into an apartment next door to the officer's home in December 2005. When Officer Daniel Enchautegui went to investigate, he was gunned down.
The concerned authorities also said that Armento shot twenty-eight year old officer with his .357 Magnum and hit him in the heart. The dying officer fired back and lead injury to both the men.
Armento was convicted last year of first-degree murder and is serving a life sentence without parole.
The acquittal in the murder case against Brancato annoyed the family of the slain officer and the union that represents police officers. On Friday, a sea of uniformed officers and detectives packed the courtroom and cheered for Enchautegui's family.
The victim's sister, Yolanda Rosa Nazario, told the court that their parents gave up the will to live and eventually died after losing their son.
"I lost Danny, my dad and my mom because of two men who wanted to drink and do drugs." She made this comment in tears.
After the sentencing, she made a comment regarding Lillo Brancato Jr. She said,"He'll always be a murderer, no matter what the jury said."
The prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence in the attempted burglary conviction. Brancato has already served 3 years waiting for his trial, for which he will receive credit.
According to his attorney, Joseph Tacopina gave the information that Brancato would use the time in jail for straightening his life with family’s help. Tacopina had sought the minimum of three and half years, and friends and family had written letters on Brancato's behalf.
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News / Gossips by sunsetsally_uk
