SHOCK: Jury Acquits Robert Ellis of Cop Murder
BROOKLYN, NY — A jury in Brooklyn on Wednesday night acquitted one of three men charged in the fatal shooting of Police Officer Russel Timoshenko of murder charges, but convicted him on lesser counts of weapons possession.
The verdict was a stunning setback for prosecutors, who had argued that the defendant, Robert Ellis, was one of two men who fired their weapons at Officer Timoshenko and his partner, Officer Herman Yan, during a traffic stop in the early-morning hours of July 9, 2007.
Mr. Ellis would have faced a possible sentence of life without parole if he had been convicted of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. Mr. Ellis’s lawyer said he could face up to 15 years in prison on each of the weapons charges, but said she thought they would run concurrently.
The shooting, on a Brooklyn street, was captured in grainy surveillance video. Officer Timoshenko, 23, shot twice in the face, clung to life in a hospital for five days. Mr. Ellis and one of his co-defendants, Dexter Bostic, who both have lengthy criminal records, were captured in the Poconos after a three-day search.
The jury, one of three simultaneously hearing the cases against three defendants, took 10 hours to reach its verdict.
As the foreman delivered it, Officer Timoshenko’s mother shook her head. Mr. Ellis clenched his jaw and said nothing as he was led away. As the courtroom began to clear, relatives of Officer Timoshenko, crying, were ushered back into the courtroom to give them privacy. An assistant prosecutor, Mark Hale, refused to discuss the verdict.
In an interview, the jury foreman, who spoke on the condition that his name not be published, said that jurors had argued for hours — at one point, they stopped speaking to each other — and decided that ultimately, prosecutors had failed to provide evidence that linked Mr. Ellis to the murder and had called witnesses who had no credibility.
One of the main issues that the jury debated was who was driving the car at the time it was stopped — a key issue in determining who fired at the officers. Most of the jurors, after arguing for four hours over who was driving, came to the conclusion that it was Mr. Ellis, meaning that he did not fire one of the guns, the foreman said.
In explaining the verdict, the foreman said, “The prosecution put thugs, criminals and police officers on the stand — none of which were more believable than the next.”
He said that “we’d really like to make sure Mr. Ellis got what was coming to him. There was nothing that we could grab hold of that made us comfortable with murder or attempted murder.”
Later, he added, “We knew we were going to disappoint everybody.”
Patrick J. Lynch, the head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said after the verdict: “You can imagine what this family is going through today. It’s obvious that these three animals killed a New York City police officer. To think that this mongrel just was carrying a gun, it’s a disgrace.”
And, he added, “We hope the other two juries see the evidence for what it is and come back with guilty verdicts.”
While prosecutors argued that all three men — Mr. Ellis, Mr. Bostic, and Lee Woods — were responsible for the murder of Officer Timoshenko, they also said that the driver of the car was not one of the two shooters. The prosecutors have argued that Mr. Woods was driving the car.
Mr. Ellis’ lawyer, Danielle V. Eaddy, argued that it was her client who was driving, though prosecutors said Mr. Ellis sat behind Mr. Woods and fired shots at Officer Yan, wounding him. Mr. Bostic, they said, sat in the front passenger seat, and fired two shots into Officer Timoshenko’s face.
In court, Ms. Eaddy argued that not only was Mr. Ellis’s DNA found on a soda bottle at the foot of the driver’s seat and on chicken bones found outside the driver’s door, but also that no DNA or fingerprint evidence tied Mr. Ellis to any of the three guns that detectives found in a driveway on the night of the shooting.
Ms. Eaddy also argued that police officers beat Mr. Ellis before he made a videotaped statement saying he touched two of the guns, a contention prosecutors denied. The jury in Mr. Woods’s trial started deliberations on Wednesday, and Mr. Bostic’s jury was set to hear summations on Thursday.
protect those that protect us
As usual…the defense is that the cops beat him. why is it that every time a black man get accused of something, he says that cops beat him?
lock the murderer up for life with out parole! (only because NYC does not have the death penalty)
shocked
A travesty! If a cop killer can’t be found guilty in Brooklyn, there’s no chance for justice for anybody. Except some, obviously. This is so wrong. Hope that jury can live with themselves when this slug kills someone else.
J.J.
This is a travesty of justice! Even if only 2 of them actually fired the guns, all 3 are guilty.They committed this murder together as a team.
If the driver was Ellis and if he had remorse, he should have turned himself in immediately and testified against the other 2 guys.Since he did not do that, he is as guilty as those who actually pulled the trigger.
Even though I am a huge critic of the police dept. when they do something wrong, today I am criticizing the justice system which clearly dropped the ball and let down the entire city and the family of our hero police officer Russel Timoshenko.
I am shocked and saddened by this clearly wrong verdict.May g-d comfort Russel’s family and friends.
me myself and i
what the hell
what message does this send the world
BigBen
Not so shocking. Since many “good” people avoid jury duty like the plague this is the result. I can tell you from personal experience the pool of potential jurors is full of the kind of people who do not care about law and justice.
If you want to see good, strong, and just verdicts then start responding to the Jury Duty mailings you receive and serv on a jury.
I hope those three criminal animals (and all criminals like them) get whats coming to them soon.
Russel RIP
CN
True Justice comes only from HaShem. Just like O.J., he’ll get Justice in the end.
annie
What a disgrace. I can’t believe cops still put themselves out there in this kind of climate. What kind of message does this tell the future cop killers, don’t worry you will get away with it, just say they beat you. The lawyer for Ellis, Danielle v. Eaddy, should not be able to sleep at night if she has any conscience, and just wait when she needs cops to help her out.
yes
to Crown heights.info, Shame on you for putting a picture of wicked person on your website. And also for putting stories that do not increase Torah and fear of Heaven
what else is new
nothing to be shocked about round here. its the usual yadda ada.
stupid charly heintz
why are you so shocked with the DA being busy with
with stupidity .
trying to work for Heubner with the hate spreding
in this world how can thy be effective at all ?