Witness: Suspect in officer's death discussed killing police
City police Officer Thomas Lindsey's accused killer was "ranting and raving" in jail about how he had previously killed police officers in his home country of Puerto Rico, according to a prison inmate's testimony Friday in Oneida County Court.
James Bell, who is awaiting sentencing on federal drug charges, was among several jail inmates who told jurors about the comments Wesley Molina-Cirino made while he was incarcerated during the weeks after Lindsey's shooting death last April.
Molina-Cirino, 24, of Utica, is standing trial for aggravated murder in Lindsey's death.
Bell explained how Molina-Cirino interrupted him during a conversation Bell was having with another inmate about Bell's brother, who happens to be a Utica police officer.
"He was just ranting and raving about how he can't stand police," and how he had previously killed police officers in Puerto Rico, Bell said.
Bell also overheard Molina-Cirino saying, "He doesn't have a problem killing again," and, "I'll kill you like I killed that cop."
Bell's testimony
This isn't the first time Bell has testified against murder suspects.
He testified several years ago during the trials of two men - Cleotis Mercer and Reginald Davis - accused of robbing and killing a drug dealer in Utica. Both men were convicted and sentenced to prison.
At Mercer's 2005 trial, defense attorney Les Lewis attacked Bell's motives and referred to the Oneida County jail as "a sinking ship of sea-going snitches" who will say anything to get themselves out of trouble.
On Friday, Molina-Cirino's defense attorney, Rebecca Wittman, likewise questioned Bell's motivation for telling police about Molina-Cirino's comments.
Bell said he wasn't promised anything in exchange for his testimony against Molina-Cirino, but he did agree that cooperation with police does help reduce fed
eral sentences.
"But when you're in jail, it's hard to find things (to help you cooperate with police) unless you happen to be housed with someone accused of killing a police officer, right?" Wittman asked.
"I guess," Bell said.
Since Bell's brother is a police officer, Wittman also suggested Bell wouldn't be happy with anyone accused of killing a police officer.
"I don't feel anybody should be targeted because of their line of work and be executed," Bell said.
Other inmates testify
- Several other jail inmates also testified about conversations they had with Molina-Cirino while incarcerated.
- Mario Sierra: Molina-Cirino asked Sierra to tell his attorney Molina-Cirino's distant cousin, Jose Cirino, killed Lindsey, not Molina-Cirino.
Sierra, however, acknowledged he was offered a lesser sentence on drug charges in exchange for his testimony. Sierra also told police about Molina-Cirino's comments following a heated "discussion" the two had in jail.
Then, when questioned by Wittman, Sierra disclosed that Lindsey once arrested him for drug possession in 2006. And when Sierra didn't show up for court, he avoided being captured as Lindsey chased him behind a house on Howard Avenue.
- Jerry Scott: Molina-Cirino was interested in news reports on Lindsey's death while they were in jail, he said. Molina-Cirino said his cousin, Jose Cirino, waited behind a car before sneaking up and shooting Lindsey, Scott told jurors.
According to Molina-Cirino, Jose Cirino was wearing a "white hoodie" that night, similar to how several witnesses described the shooter's clothing, Scott testified. Jose Cirino then threw the gun off an overpass in North Utica, Molina-Cirino told Scott.
- Dennis Rodgers: Molina-Cirino was overheard telling another jail inmate he didn't plan on shooting Lindsey that night, Rodgers said. Molina-Cirino wanted to kill Sammy Rivera, the person Lindsey pulled over during the traffic stop on Neilson Street, he said.
But when Molina-Cirino saw Rivera with a child in the car, that's when Molina-Cirino targeted Lindsey instead, Rodgers said.
"He said, 'I felt like I had to kill somebody, so I killed that (expletive),'" referring to Lindsey, Rodgers recalled.
Before any of these alleged jailhouse conversations took place, however, Utica police talked with Molina-Cirino several days after Lindsey's April 12 death, city police Officer Raymond Maldonado said. Molina-Cirino had been arrested on a drug warrant when police interviewed him April 17.
During that interview, Molina-Cirino said Rivera's uncle "Indio" told him a man named "Rico" snuck up behind Lindsey and shot the officer, Maldonado said, and Molina-Cirino did not mention Jose Cirino at that time.
Observer-Dispatch