Indicted Cops Involved in Bell Shooting Surrender

At 7AM, the three detectives indicted in the shooting of Sean Bell last November turned themselves. WNBC reports that Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper will be fingerprinted and processed before their arraignment this afternoon.

The grand jury came to a decision last Friday, but said it would wait until today to make the official announcement. However, news of the indictments got out when defense lawyers for the cops involved found out whether their clients were required to surrender today. It's believed that Oliver and Isnora, who fired 31 and 11 times respectively, will face manslaughter charges while Cooper will face reckless endangerment charges. A total of 50 shots were fired at Bell and his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield outside a Queens night club where the police had been conducting an undercover operation. All three men were unarmed, and Bell was killed.

The NY Sun spoke to professor Eli Silverman at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who said, "I guess you could say the indictment was a prologue and the announcement is the beginning of the first act … The public is going to get the case of characters on all sides." The Reverend Al Sharpton said that Guzman and Benefield are getting ready for the trial and warned that the defense lawyers would try to make them look bad.

And even police insiders are upset at Oliver's $4,200 dinner Saturday night. Even though a friend paid for the meal, one police union source told the Daily News, "He just got himself convicted. We have to rein him in before he gets the other guys convicted, too. It's all about perception."

Update: The indictment was unsealed, and there will be a lot of jail time for Oliver and Isnora, if found guilty. (You can read the charges after the jump.) The Reverend Al Sharpton, who appeared outside the Queens County Courthouse with Bell's family, said the charges should have gone further: "There clearly was evidence to warrant murder and attempted murder." He also said, "All officers in fact shot. All officers in fact should have been charged. All officers acted in concert." The Politicker also notes that Sharpton thinks a trial held outside of Queens County would "insulting" and "We will not participate, attend or cooperate" if it is held somewhere else.

Queens DA Richard Brown said, "I want to commend the prosecutors and investigators from my office who have worked on this case since its inception. They are to be commended for their dedication, their thoroughness, their impartiality -- and, most of all for their professionalism."

Photograph of Sharpton surrounded by Bell's mother, fiancee, and friends by Mary Altaffer/AP

Detective Michael Oliver:
-- One count of first-degree manslaughter (accused of causing the death of Bell while intending to seriously injure his friend Joseph Guzman). Five to 25 years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- One count of second-degree manslaughter (accused of recklessly causing Bell's death while aiding fellow detective Gerald Isnora). A minimum of one to three years in prison and a maximum of five to 15 years if convicted. Prison time in not mandatory.
-- Two counts of first-degree assault (accused of intentionally and seriously injuring Guzman and Trent Benefield). A felony that carries a five-to-25-year sentence. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- Two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment (accused of discharging gun multiple times on a street with people present, and of shooting gun through the window of a nearby home). One-year prison sentence, but is not mandatory.

Detective Gescard Isnora:

-- One count of first-degree manslaughter (accused of causing Bell's death while intending to seriously injure Guzman). Five to 25 years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.

-- One count of second-degree manslaughter (accused of recklessly causing the death of Bell while aiding Oliver). A minimum of one to three years in prison and a maximum of five to 15 years if convicted. Prison time in not mandatory.

-- One count of first-degree assault (accused of intentionally and seriously injuring Guzman). A violent felony that carries a five-to-25-year sentence. Some jail time is mandatory.

-- One count second-degree assault (accused of recklessly injuring Trent Benefield). Two to seven years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.

-- One count of second-degree reckless endangerment (accused of discharging gun multiple times on street with people present). One-year sentence if convicted, but is not mandatory.

Detective Marc Cooper:

-- Two counts second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor (accused of discharging gun multiple times on street with people present, and for shooting a gun at an occupied AirTrain station). Up to one year behind bars, but not mandatory.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 19, 2007 5:10 PM

Comments [rss]

ed_Extinct

Who cares if the bottle was $5, $500 or $5000.

The media is trying its best, as usual, to make this cop look bad.

They will not succeed. The bottle and the dinner will never come up in the trial. The defendants (cops) will not testify and the only witnesses will be the thugs in the car, who by the way all have extensive arrest and criminal histories—the defense will rip them to shreds.

you are like, lame and stuff

Being an asshole is better than being ignorant.

oh no mon ami

Yep, you're still an asshole.

yes, poverty does suck

#35: "Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant. boy are you an asshole."

And you're an idiot. Paying $500 for a glass of orange juice would be extravagant. However, wine prices have long ranged from $5 to more than $100,000. Thus your statement that "paying $500 for wine is excessive" is just plain stupid. I don't mind being an asshole to dipshits who make idiotic blanket statements.

regular showin tru colors

Wow, Gothamist regulars posting profanity!

what a shocker. Al sharpton must of raped your mother or something.

ed_Extinct

Let's see SP:

touring, er i mean protesting down 5th avenue and 125th street to specifically protest "white" establishments... hmmm...

two things: 1. counter productive. and racist. he also does nothong to help the black community. has he condemned any of the recent black shootings in union square that have involved young black men? did he condemn the undercover operation on staten island of the two slain undercover cops? is he out protesting lifestyles that are clear deterrants to the black community like: violent crime, drugs....

i think i have answered enough... if you deny any of this it's clear of two things: you're trolling or your just an ignorant f uck.

also, he has yet to apologize or pay Pagones for the tawana brawley lie he concocted back in the late 80's.

Sharpton is a media whore with one goal: self respect and dollar signs.

booyah!

Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant.

For you it is cause you getting paid peanuts!

poverty suks

Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant.

boy are you an asshole.

wow you are dumb

#12: "$500 for a bottle of wine is overboard and excessive"

Paying $500 for certain bottles of wine would be considered a bargain.

Paying $500 for that boxed White Zin that you purchased from the supermarket would indeed be excessive.

Moron.

Toby

If you caught Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight, he named Al Sharpton the Worse Person in the World for today. Why, you may ask? Sharpton said several times that the 5 NYPD officers should be shot.

Check out the video from MSNBC!

It reveals a lot about Sharpton.

Abogado

Al, party or no party. Hopefully NY gets in order.

schmok sum wheed

You mean the Car was indicted, put in a plea and will go to trial???????????

Is that what you're saying?

Guilty!

So you're saying he's guilty, not guilty?. Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.

edy's grand jury

what do you mean by "ramming"? you mean, he put the car in reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive.

the thousand years is over.

bfd

This is nuts. All men involved have been arrested for weapons related charges at some point. Not saying thats enough to warrant what happened that night, but if Bell was drunk and ramming his car at me, and I had a gun, I would definitely open fire. It has nothing to do with race.

SP

Still waiting, ed... (you moron)

harlem national network

God Bless You, Reverend Al Sharpton.

You must be doing something right to get whitey so angry at you.

And, I see the gothamist racist regulars are in full force.

5w30

"All the cops should be shot".

Now we know what the Rev. Charlatan was really thinking ...

One can see how that was edited out of most if not all of the wire service coverage ... and a lot of the television coverage later.

What a joke.

Now in a $2000 suit.