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Rudy Fleming, a 19 year-old who has been serving parole for previous weapons charges, was charged with first-degree and second-degree murder, as well as robbery and criminal posession, in the murder of Brooklyn actress-playwright Nicole duFrense. Police have also charged two others in connection to a robbery earlier on the Lower East last Thursday morning. A number of police tips helped the NYPD find the individuals involved with the crime, but it turns out that a brother and sister in the group that had approached duFresne and her friends told their father that their cousin, Fleming, had killed a woman during a robbery. Servano Simmon, Fleming's uncle and godfather, had been letting Fleming stay at the Barush House projects on the Lower East Side. Simmon said:
I tried to help him — and look what he did to those poor people. This has taken a toll on me. How would you feel if you had someone staying at your house and he killed someone?Simmon says he told his children to go to the police, but police say that tips came from others who heard those involved talking about the crime. The police have been calling the earlier robbery and duFresne's murder "crimes of opportunity" - prompted only by running into the targets. Other police sources say that Fleming hit his head, spit and tore at his clothes in order to appear "crazy," perhaps in a bid for an insanity defense; he also allegedly "whined" while questioned and appear to be asleep when arragined....It's not fair to the people, and it's not fair to me. I don't have enough money to buy a decent pair of pants right now, much less have the money to get them out. All I have to say is, these kids did what they did. I don't know anything. I wish I could change the whole situation, but I can't.
The NY Times and Daily News noted that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said duFresne's intervention in the robbery shouldn't be faulted: "Regardless of what the victim said or did not say, the person responsible for her death is the one who pulled the trigger." That's true, but it definitely makes you think twice. Commissioner Kelly did add, "If you're in a situation when someone is pointing a weapon at you, I think it's best to comply with the directions of that individual."
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Some self-defense classes teach that you are better off standing ground (at least initially). Many aggressors enjoy being able to assert their power and authority, and their "power" is confirmed when you show fear. Some studies have shown that simply not backing off can deter predators.
Obviously, these street scum were a different breed. I hope they rot in hell.
"Self defense classes"? "Some studies"?
Ahem...once again, she said "what are you going to do, shoot us" AFTER seeing that the kid had a gun, and after seeing that the kid violently pistol-whipped her boyfriend in the face.
Doesn't take a self defense class to find out that you arent bullet-proof.
Not a defense, but this Kid has some serious issues. Besides victimizing the Dead womans family, he victemized his own.
It'll be a while before he see's Daylight.
My concern is:
A lawyer might try to get that thrown out...
I don't think the white scarf on the face will be an issue, since it was goddamn FREEZING that night. (Think, people, think!)
"The murder weapon -- (snip) -- were found inside the brothers' home after the family agreed to let police search the residence."
That's my concern, not the scarf....
Oh, what a magical world where if we always knew the right thing to say or do and did so when confronted with evil we would never be harmed!!!
To save time and money why doesn't the punk killer just agree to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
my heart goes out to the dufresne family. this is a very sad story...for both sides.. do you know that people get killed in bed stuy, brownsville, east new york every week? what makes this murder different? that the victim was white? that this happened in a gentrifying neighborhood that was formerly the stomping grounds of asians, jews and hispanics? that the perpetrators were black/minority and walking around in a group of thugs? but do we ever think of why this kid had a gun in the first place? why a bunch of 15-19 year olds are out on the street trying to rob people? how come they aren't home sleeping, getting a good night's sleep so they can get up the next morning and do some community service, have breakfast with their family, going to their jobs, going to the library?
i'm 31, i was born blocks from where this occurred on 1st street and 1st ave. i wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to get a gun right now if my life depended on it, much less know how
to unlock the safety and pull the trigger. plus, i think i would be terrified to shoot a gun.
it bugs me that this woman was killed by thugs who probably had to act hard in front of their friends. thus, when confronted by her comment of , 'what are you going to do, shoot us' he did
just that. it burns me that her family now has to bury her. it burns me that the fiancee just lost his future wife. it burns me that this kid's future is now a complete waste. it burns me that
people hope that this kid rots in hell. he's probably at rikers' right now, peeing in his pants when he sees what he got himself into.
Tragic all around. From the Newsday article:
"Simmon was friends with Timothy Stansbury, 19, who was killed last year by a police officer during a confrontation in the same housing facility."
If you don't remember Stansbury, he was an unarmed teenager shot to death by NYPD in his own building almost a year ago to the day:
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/crime/20040203/4/860
Except the cop who pulled the trigger was never charged.
I was also kind of wondering why this story was getting so much publicity. Not that it isn't a heartbreaking case, but I remember hearing about someone getting shot down the street from where I live about 3 weeks ago, and it was on the news for literally 30 seconds. Never heard anything more about it.
My heart goes out to all involved.
I don't understand why this case is getting national attention -- there was a segment on Entertainment Tonight about it. WTF?
Yadda yadda "this story is getting so much coverage because she is white" blah blah blah blah. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's been for a LONG time. It's a very tired observation. I bet DuFresne would probably be on Gothamist saying the same crap if it wasn't her that got shot.
The interesting thing is that people are shaking in their boots about the safety of the lower east side. Safety tip: don't try to be a tough cookie and fuck with a guy holding a gun.
The rule applies to blacks as well as whites, males and females. Try it, kids: walk up to the toughest thug you see on the street and ask him "if you had no gun, and someone pointed a gun at you, would you say 'what are you going to do, shoot me'?"
Do you remember a scene in "Scary movie" when the girl is being chased by the killer in her house, She locks herself in her room, goes online to a 911 website and types "Help, White woman in trouble!" and 2 seconds later the entire town's police department comes to the rescue?
Deja Vu?
Why can't the police do this with every murder that happens in NYC? And why can't the press give the same coverage to every murder as well?
Do I sound insensitive? Yeap
Do I feel sorry for what happened? Sure I do, but these questions have to be asked sometimes
From what I hear, Each murder is treated the same by the police.
The press (and the people) is a different story all together.
Took me a while to find it, but remember when Lyric Benson Murder-Suicide?
It got a lot more press than A man killed his girlfriend (and mother of his 18 month old son) after being rejected by her (and no comments here).
Methinks society (Me too!) needs to re-evaluate the attention given to any murder instead of being selective.
I wish I was still naieve enough to think every murder was treated equally by the police. I'm not being facetious; I really do.
I agree with S.D. -- I think this is more of a case of the media seeing a pretty woman and going from that point. Remember that model that was accidentally shot on the subway in Times Square last year? She was all over the newspapers and the national morning shows. And no one knows who shot her or what race the person was or whether it was accidental or not. But she was a pretty face and it got attention. If Nicole was a pretty, black playwright/actory, this story would have gotten the same coverage.
Amen Jenny!
Testifyy!
no, each murder is not treated the same by the police.
timothy stansbury: killed by a cop. no manhunt, no nothing.
ft tryon park jogger: citywide manhunt by all, including the police.
case closed.
why would there have been a manhunt for someone killed by a cop when the identity of the cop was known?
the person who attacked the jogger in ft. tyron park was at large and no one knew who he was exactly or his motive. press coverage aside, the manhunt was conducted to prevent future attacks from an unknown assailant.
It got attention from police, and national coverage, because a mean black kid shot a pretty white girl.
Nobody cared about the rooftop shooting, because it was a cop shooting a black kid with a (n imagined) gun.
In a media studies undergrad course, we once did a project correlating race to media coverage of crimes. Minority on Majority crimes rated real high, followed by Majority on Majority, Minority on Minority, Majority on Minority.
"timothy stansbury: killed by a cop. no manhunt, no nothing."
Do they need a Manhunt to get him out of the Precinct House?
A Brooklyn grand jury refused to indict the police officer for the shooting.
A few loaded question:
IMO, at the very least he should have been charged with Manslaughter. Even if it was a complete accident (It sure Doesn't sound like it) a man is still dead.
"Case closed"? On your "proof"? Sorry, I don't think so...
"Nobody cared about the rooftop shooting, because it was a cop shooting a black kid with a(n imagined) gun."
Can't speak for anyone else, but I cared. At the least the police officer paniced. Not someone you want on the street.
Anyone see Bullets in the Hood - A Bed-Stuy Story?
sd, that's my point, that the crimes weren't treated equally. he should've gotten some time..
from what i recall, they shielded the cop from questioning for what was an inordinate amount of days.
if they caught the ft tryon killer, you think they would've let him sit at home for a few days to gather his thoughts? no.
i think you're missing my point.
Well, ltjbukem, I just disagree. IMO, It's two completely different crimes with two very different perpetrators.
Timothy Stansbury was killed by a NYPD officer that was patrolling a roof top with his gun drawn. IMO, his death might have been caused by the officer getting surprised and pulling the trigger by mistake. Tragic? Yes. Intentional? No. Manslaughter? I'm not a lawyer, but from what little law I did study, it looks like manslaughter to me.
Nicole duFrense was killed by someone during a robbery and assault. Tragic? Yes. Intentional? Sure looks that way. Manslaughter? Nope.
The only thing in common was this: Neither one deserved to die.
The Cop had 12 years on the Job and choose to go out on a daily basis knowing that his safety was endangered by the target on his chest.
Rudy Fleming is a 19 year old who choose to go out Rob and assault people. He made the choice to pull out a Gun, Rob those people, pistol whip a man and kill that woman.
Other than the 48 hour rule (Blame the city for that rule) I'm pretty sure Kelley made certain that he was questioned by investigators.
The Ft. Tryon guy maliciously attacked people, Richard Neri didn't.
If your point is that Rudy Fleming will get worse treatment than Richard Neri, Honestly, I don't get it. A grand Jury decided not to prosecute Neri and a Grand Jury will decide if Rudy Fleming will go to trial. From there a Jury will decide his fate.
of course they're not treated equally. why would an on-duty cop who accidentally kills an innocent kid get similar treatment to a criminal who intentionally murders? sure the cop should be in trouble, but come on, they aren't even similar situations. i remember quite a bit of media coverage over that rooftop killing as well.
Can we please now close down the projects on the LES? How can a neighorhood truly renew itself when there are so many ex-cons next door.
Can we also have the right to carry guns? If only 10% of the law-abiding population had guns, these thugs would think twice about fucking with us. Right now we're like animals in a hunting ground. Thugs pick us off with ease. Imagine if in that hunting ground, the animals shot back.
Beware of Clinton St. I live in the area and I already knew that the crowd changes one street before Clinton. Don't go East of Schillers.
Cross the street if you're headed towards a bunch of people with hoods on. Thugs all wear hoods now b/c the cameras are everywhere. The positive is that now we can spot thugs -- most are wearing hoods. Don't worry about offending someone. Chances are they also cross the street when approaching would-be wilders. I would never go within 20 feet of a group of thugs. CROSS THE STREET. TURN AROUND. JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE. You don't need a self-defense class, you just need two feet.
I really hope you're joking, dd.
dear dd,
all joking aside, as a long time LES resident, perhaps it is you that should should be relocated. your paranoia and ignorance are not welcome.....i'm sure there's a home for you in tuxedo park, ny where the only poor minorities and ex-cons you'll have to deal with are the ones cleaning your floor and trimming your bushes.
BTW, tell the uncle/cousin that turned in the guy that he's not welcome in the LES b/c he is clearly a dishonest citizen deserving of deportation from other otherwise pristene LES.
Kisses,
Longertime resident than you
Ok,Granted my Coffee hasn't kicked in Yet, but this is a joke??
In any case, I think DD and spintoto is being Sarcastic.
spintoto most likely; DD, I'm not to sure...
Nicole and I went to school together in MN. I just saw her at a high school holiday party right before x-mas. She was so full of life and now...it's been ripped away by a foulish thug. I feel for her family and future husband that had to hold her while she died and left him forever with a whole in his heart.