NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- Actor Lillo Brancato Jr. and Steven Armento, charged in the shooting death of a New York police officer, may get separate trials.
Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett said he may have to allow the "Bronx Tale" actor to be tried separately from Armento if statements the suspects made to police after the Dec. 10 shooting death of Officer Daniel Enchautegui are allowed to be used at trial, the White Plains (N.Y.) Journal reported Wednesday.
Brancato's attorney, Mel Sachs, sought separate trials claiming his client did not know Armento had a .357-caliber revolver when they tried to burglarize an apartment next to Enchautegui's home after a night of drinking and drug use.
The two men, both shot by Enchautegui before he died, gave investigators different accounts of who fired first, with Brancato implicating Armento in the shooting.
Sachs said he will argue at pretrial hearings that statements the wounded Brancato made to police were not voluntary and should barred from the trial.
