Slain Det. Peter Figoski’s daughters leave the court room for the noon break. (Spencer Burnett)
Lamont Pride at a pre-trial hearing earlier this month. (Spencer Burnett)
He’s finally facing justice.
The evil thug who gunned down a Brooklyn police officer in 2011 sat before a packed courtroom of cops and his victim’s family today as prosecutors laid out the case against him.
Lamont Pride, 28, is charged with first-degree murder for the slaying of Peter Figoski, 47, an East New York cop who responded to the basement apartment Pride and four fellow goons were robbing.
“He is the guy who fired the gun. He is the guy who killed Pete Figoski,” Brooklyn assistant district attorney Ken Taub said in his opening statement. “He intended to kill Pete Figoski because that was the only way he was going to escape.”
Figoski’s parents, ex-wife, and four daughters sat in the courtroom along with dozens of cops. The father of Alain Schaberger, a Brooklyn cop killed when a punk shoved him off a stoop in March 2011, also attended.
Caitlyn, one of the slain cop’s four daughters, left the courtroom shortly before Taub narrated the shooting and didn’t return until after the defense attorney began his statement.
Another daughter, Christine, closed her eyes for several seconds as Taub described the path of Pride’s bullet.
Getaway driver Michael Velez, 22, is standing trial alongside Pride. Opening statements in his case are scheduled for this afternoon.
Taub also revealed that another of the thugs involved in the robbery, Ariel Tejada, 23, had flipped and would testify against Pride and Velez in exchange for a sweeter sentence.
“At the end of the day he will be allowed to withdraw his plea to murder and plead guilty to robbery,” said Taub.
Taub said Tejada would receive 18 years, of which he would probably serve about 15 ½ years.
Defense attorney Christopher Wright called Tejada a liar who would lie to the jury.
“[Pride] did not intentionally cause the death of Peter Figoski,” Wright said. “His intent was to flee, his intent was to run away. His intent was not to cause the death of a police officer.”
Pride sat expressionless during the openings. The career criminal faces a first-degree murder charge that could get him a minimum 30-year sentence.
“What you saw here today was a clown that knows he’s guilty,” said Pat Lynch, Police Benevolent Association president. “He’s a killer, he knows it, and he’s also a liar, and he knows it.”
jsaul@nypost.com