Who shot first?
The trial for drug-addled cop-killer Steven Armento began yesterday with his defense attorney daring to blame the police officer for his own death because he confronted burglars rustling outside his Bronx home.
In a courtroom overflowing with disgusted Finest, lawyer Bill Flack accused Officer Daniel Enchautegui of firing his service revolver without first identifying himself – prompting Armento to return fire.
PEYSER: Low Life Pours Filth On Grave Of A Hero
MORE: Transcript Of Officer’s 911 Call
“Who fired first?” Flack asked during opening arguments. “What you’re going to discover is the officer – with good intentions and his reactions – caused his death.”
Armento, 51, is charged – along with “Sopranos” actor Lillo Brancato – with killing Enchautegui. He faces life behind bars if convicted.
The cop was gunned down as he tried to stop the two men from burglarizing his neighbor’s Pelham Bay home in December 2005.
Brancato, 32, also known for his role in the 1993 movie “A Bronx Tale,” was unarmed when he joined Armento in a mad search for prescription drugs. The actor will be tried separately starting Oct. 28.
Prosecutors claim Armento fired his gun first – part of a volley of eight shots in which the 28-year-old off-duty cop died.
Flack called Enchautegui’s death a “terrible tragedy” – but added, “The evidence will not show that [the officer] in this case was known to be a police officer.”
Flack said Enchautegui, a three-year NYPD veteran, did not identify himself as a cop before shooting Armento.
Prosecutors say Enchautegui shouted, “Police, don’t move!”
Flack challenged that account, saying the cop only yelled, “Don’t move! Don’t move!”
He said cops who showed up at the shooting scenedid not know Enchautegui was a cop until they found “a shield under his jacket.”
Before Flack’s incendiary defense, prosecutors played Enchautegui’s 911 call that he made moments before he confronted Armento and Brancato – evidence the officer had done due diligence.
“Yes. Listen, I’m an off-duty MOS [member of service]. I think someone broke into my neighbor’s home,” Enchautegui said. “There’s glass and the window’s on the floor.”
“OK. What’s the address and in what borough?” the operator asked.
“Uh, Bronx,” the officer said.
He also told the operator he was “in plainclothes.” “I’m outside [the apartment]. I am armed, too,” he added.
Outside Bronx Supreme Court, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch fumed with anger at Flack’s statements – calling the defense’s accusations “outrageous.” “It’s an insult to that family,” he said. “There was a parent, a mother, a father who died of a broken heart because of what that animal in there did. He deserves a defense, but they’re not entitled to make fiction into fact.”
Flack was unapologetic as he left court. “I will go forward with this trial and do what I have to do to represent my client,” he said.
Brancato and Armento both have rap sheets: Brancato for drugs and Armento for drugs, firearms and burglary.
After the day’s emotional events, a throng of cops applauded Enchautegui’s sister. Yolanda Rosa – escorted by Assistant District Attorney Terry Gottlieb – burst into tears as she walked past the officers and out of the packed courtroom.
Additional reporting by Kerry Wills