New NY State License Plate Revealed—And Required On All Cars
Access-A-Ride Renders Bike Lane Inaccessible
Cops: Fort Greene Violence Sparked By Chicken Wing Promotion
The UWS Gets Its Very Own Apple Store
64 Things Restaurant Patrons Must NEVER Do
Yesterday, a Manhattan judge sentenced 21 year old Rudy Fleming to life in prison without parole for his "unconscionable" actions in the murder of Nicole duFrense in January 2005. During an late night/early morning with, duFresne, fiance Jeffrey Sparks and friends and Fleming and his friends who were on a mugging spree, ran into each other. Fleming had taken duFresne's purse and pistol whipped Sparks, angering duFresne who said, "What are you going to do, shoot us?" One of Fleming's friends said that Fleming shot duFresne because he "was so mad" after she challenged him.
Fleming was found guilty of murder in October. At yesterday's sentencing, Sparks appeared, wearing the shirt he was wearing that January 2005 night, one with blood on the collar, in an attempt to "look as much as I did that night." However, Fleming was not in court - he was watching by camera, as he did during the trial. Sparks gave a victim-impact statement. From the Post:
"Rudy Fleming, I wish you'd come out here," Sparks began, pausing hopefully.The NY Times reports an interesting exchange about race that Sparks and Fleming's attorney had at one point. Sparks said that "he had found it difficult to look at young black men on the street without wondering 'which one of them’s packing, which one of them’s got the gun,'" and blamed Fleming, though "he would try to change his thinking because he did not want to 'live a life of prejudice and paranoia.'":"It took me a long time to find a best friend like Nicole duFresne," he continued. "And, um, we were happy.
"And" - he paused again - "you took a gun, and you pointed it right at her, and you just took her away."
"I hope that you go away for the rest of your life," he added. "I hope that you spend the rest of your life thinking about her every day. If you do, you and I will have that in common. We'll be on the same page about that."
His remarks drew a gentle rebuke from the defense lawyer, Anthony Ricco. The comment “about black men and guns is nonsense,” Mr. Ricco said, as he spoke on behalf of Mr. Fleming. Referring to the shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day by the police in Queens two weeks ago, Mr. Ricco said, “That’s the kind of nonsense that resulted in that shooting that happened in Queens.”Trials are pending for the others involved in the night's crime spree.As Mr. Sparks nodded, Mr. Ricco continued, “You’re going to honor her always, but be man enough to do it in the right way.”
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
"sentenced 21 year old Rudy Fleming to life without prison"
on another bender, jen? jeez. you should get "life without prison" for that one.
"life without prison" > "life without parole"
look at that timing!
Who cares about this white chick? 50 SHots! we shall never forget!
And people wonder why Bernhard Goetz got a slap on the wrist.
Ricco's logic is backward: behavior like that of his client is what leads DIRECTLY to things like the Queens shooting.
"As Mr. Sparks nodded, Mr. Ricco continued, “You’re going to honor her always, but be man enough to do it in the right way.”"
I'd take that really well from the defense lawyer of the dude who murdered my friend in cold blood.
Where is Sharpton and the black community for this one?
Oh that's right, they're boycotting Old Navy i.e. "White Corporations" on 125th.
Very productive.
Makes sense to me to be suspicious of a demographic that go out of their way to glorify gun violence via rap music and related imagery......
She's still dead.
I think the killer should have to sit in the courtroom during the trial/sentencing.
I agree 110% gurple. Its why Im suspecious of all white folks after Richards little breakdown, lol.
what #11 said.
actually, the ones who glorify the violence in rap lyrics most are white folks who snatch up the CD's and feed the whole industry!
This story was covered on Chinese television. The headline was "Ching Chong". I quote: "Ching chong hee waa. Hing ga ching waa. Ching chong waa."
The world is a better place without this dumb arrogant bitch. She asked to die, and the "killer" complied.
Mr. Sparks didn't say anything that was wrong or untrue.
Ricco should be ashamed of himself for exploiting a racial case not directly related to this one. He attempted to make his pathetic client look a tiny bit better than the true cold-blooded coward that Fleming really is. I hope Ricco can sleep at night knowing he takes hopeless cases for obvious losers like Fleming.
Oh, and to Fleming and the rest of his cohorts: may you all rot in jail. I simply can't wait to hear what your new jailbird boyfriends are going to do to you Fleming-- for LIFE WITH NO CHANCE OF PAROLE.
How "mad" are you now, Fleming?
Larry does it hurt when you breathe?
Let's hope you're next, Larry.
Nope, I breathe fine and dandy.
We all have our hopes and dreams, tom.
Mine is to not get shot 50 times or at least not have a cop empty one mag, do a tactical reload and empty another mag into me.
can't believe the judge let the victim's friend sit in the courtroom while wearing a bloody shirt during the trial. is he trying to get the conviction reversed?
Ok. It's been proven. Larry was just trolling because no one else will listen to his uneducated racist drivel.
Larry... just go kill yourself. Our world would be a much better place.
Oh and where is Al Sharpton now ??? Maybe he should start marching for ALL innocent people who are hurt by violence!
And tell Ricco to go and shove a sopressata up his ass....
What Mr. Ricco said was true, every SINGLE word of it. One hundred and ten percent to paraphrase a term you people would understand.
There's no reason why a police officer should shoot 2 mags worth of ammo at an unarmed individual.
I can see why he wore the same shirt - it's probably his hip, Lower East Side clubbing outfit! You can't expect him to make it home and CHANGE before feasting off New York's culture like some sort of middle class vulture! Too much grief!
it's a sad state of affairs, or perhaps just plain juvenile, when people are making judgements about what a grieving boyfriend chose to wear to the sentencing of his loved one's murderer.
mr. fleming got the sentence that he deserved. life without the possibility of parole to think about what he has done and try to make a peace with himself.
let's not ridicule mr. sparks' choice of attire when he, an innocent man, is sentenced to the same fate as a convicted killer - a life to think about what has happened.
there is no comparison between this random act of violence and the act of violence that was committed in queens. we cannot make comparisons about incidents with no ties to one another.
that is a tragedy in it's own right. with it's own story.
this tragedy is one of it's own.
Hello people. I was busy away making babies with my girlfriends around the country and speaking about moral values. Stop the racism and let Fleming go.
Free country does not need walls or locks!
Perhaps it is wrong to wonder if which young black man on the corner is packing but 1. Jeffrey was mugged, pistol whipped and his fiance executed by a young black man who was packing and 2. asking someone not to wonder after this experience is like asking someone to eat at Taco Bell after having had a bout with e Coli. You go tend to go by your experience. This doesn't mean that every young black man is packing and ready to kill but I would be fearful too if I had been in his shoes. I hope he is able to get past that...I think he will.
Well put Mellie !
I think we can all forgive the guy for his paranoia.
Now if he goes around shooting innocent young black men , well that is another story.
Man, what a lot of sad, sorry, sick shit here. A young woman is murdered in cold blood, in the prime of her life, with everything to look forward to, and a bunch of jerks who didn't know her, and who obviously couldn't care about the loss of yet another innocent life think she was at fault.
There are a lot of people, both there in NYC and here in Seattle, not to mention elsewhere, who are going to have a pretty rough day today recalling their friend and colleague, and having to relive for the umpteenth time, their response to her sudden and undeserved death at the hands of a murderous thug who showed no regard for her life, no remorse for his actions, and who will now spend the rest of his life in a living Hell coming to terms with the consequences.
Yeah, Jeff, her fiance will eventually get past his loss, as will Mary Jane and Scott, the two friends who watched our friend shot down, Nicole's parents, family, friends and those who knew her in the theatre communities of New York and Seattle. We'll all eventually get past it.
But the worst thing, the saddest thing to me is knowing that it wasn't one life that was snuffed out prematurely by Mr. Fleming, but two. He basically murdered himself that morning, and left his body there on the sidewalk right next to Nicole's. And if you had KNOWN her, you'd know she would have felt pretty bad about that.
#30, COMTE:
I do not feel one shred sorrow for him, Rudy Fleming.
He murdered this woman and then tried to play it off as accidental... He's going to a dark place, a place of no mercy, and sadly, he gets to live—Thankfully, live the rest of his life in a prison cell never to see out way of life again.