Nothing short of the death penalty would be a sufficient sentence for a man who killed a Long Island police officer during a traffic stop and then killed another motorist during his getaway, a police union official says.
Darrell Fuller, 34, of Queens, was convicted in July of first- and second-degree murder. He is due in Nassau County Court on Friday for sentencing and could be sent to prison for life.
"It's not enough," Officer James Carver, president of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, said Thursday. "It's unfortunate we don't have the death penalty anymore because that would be the only appropriate sentence."
Prosecutors said Nassau County Police Officer Arthur Lopez, 29, of Babylon, and his partner saw a car driven by Fuller collide with a van in October 2012. Fuller, who was violating parole by carrying a loaded gun, drove off in his damaged car.
After a pursuit and traffic stop near the Belmont racetrack, Lopez approached Fuller and Fuller fired a handgun from 5 feet away, killing the officer.
He then spotted Raymond Facey, 58, of Brooklyn, who had stopped along the road to make a phone call. Fuller killed him with a shot to the head and stole his car, prosecutors said.
According to testimony, Fuller then drove to Queens and had a friend shoot him in the leg to make it appear he had been a victim.
At his trial, Fuller's attorney called no witnesses and argued that no one actually saw Fuller firing the shots that killed either Lopez or Facey.
Carver said Fuller's imprisonment will be very expensive for New York taxpayers: during his trial, testimony was limited to three days a week because he needed two days a week for kidney dialysis treatments.
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"He's going to be taken care of for the rest of his life while the Lopez and Facey families visit gravesites on holidays," Carver said.
