Metro

Alleged LI pharmacy shooter pens wacko jury duty letter after arrest

The psycho pill-popper accused of killing four people at a Long Island pharmacy last month penned a bizarre letter where he notified a Suffolk County official that he could not attend jury duty scheduled to begin just days after his arrest, officials said today.

“I have recently [as of 23 June] been arrested, and am currently detained at Riverhead Correctional Facility on some very serious felony charges,” he said in a letter dated June 29 sent to Commissioner of Jurors Michael O’Donohoe.

“I simply wished to relay this to you, so that I do not get into any further legal troubles.”

READ THE LETTER (PDF)

The handwritten letter, made public today, is signed, “Sincerely, David Laffer.”

The letter was received this past week.

O’Donohoe confirmed that Laffer had been called to serve on jury duty starting June 28. He said authorities would honor Laffer’s request for a postponement and gave him a six-month extension.

O’Donohoe told The Post he was told Laffer wrote the letter on the advice of another prisoner, George Guldi, a former Suffolk official facing trial on mortgage fraud charges.

“I don’t know why you would ask the person in the cell next to you for advice – they’re in jail,” he said.

O’Donohoe said Laffer’s worry “is certainly an unusual concern, given the charges against him. I’ve never received one from someone facing such serious charges.”

If Laffer were out on bail, he would still be eligible to serve on a jury, officials said.

Laffer, 33, and his wife, Melinda Brady, cased various pharmacies in the days leading up to the murders — narrowing their pick to Haven Drugs in Medford, which they scoped out on the night before the slayings, Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota said.

The shooting occurred on Father’s Day at Haven Drugs in Medford after Laffer allegedly walked into the store, shot and killed the clerk, stole the drugs and killed three other people before fleeing.

Laffer’s next court appearance is Sept. 8. The judge said jury selection is expected in early January 2012.

Brady, 29, was also arrested and is accused of driving the getaway car.

Brady has said in a Suffolk County police report that while they plotted the robbery, killing was never part of the plan.

A source said Brady may be cooperating with prosecutors after she waived her right to be released when she was not indicted by a grand jury in a timely manner.

She is slated to appear before a judge on July 15.