Bronx Prosecutor’s Blown Deadline Means Case Dismissal
A 20-year veteran prosecutor may face disciplinary action after missed deadlines forced charges to be dropped against a parolee accused of trying to kill a New York City police officer.
Prosecutor Christine Scaccia, director of gang prosecutions at the Bronx district attorney’s office, dragged her feet and blew through several deadlines on the shooting case against Darren Morris, which was scheduled for trial in November, the New York Post reports. Morris, previously convicted of criminal possession of a weapon and paroled last year, was accused of firing two bullets at Officer Daniel Beddows in November 2009.
“Ultimately the case in question was dismissed because it appears that there was a serious professional lapse in the assistant’s performance of the duties necessary to move the case forward,” said Steven Reed, spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson.
Morris’ arresting officers plan to meet with federal prosecutors next week, who previously demonstrated an interest in the case because under the “Trigger-Lock Program,” gun violators convicted in federal court receive harsher sentences than they would in state court, the Post reports.
