40 years for gay slay
Elliot Morales, convicted in March of second-degree murder as a hate crime in the May 2013 close-range shooting of Mark Carson, a gay man, in the West Village, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
In imposing the sentence on June 14, Judge A. Kirke Bartley of Manhattan Supreme Court said a “chilling video” statement Morales made to police after his arrest betrayed “an evil nature,” like “a character out of a Steven King novel — in short, a monster.”
Shannon Lucey, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, asked for the maximum sentence for Morales, saying that Carson was “executed for being a proud openly gay man.”
In a statement after the sentencing, Cy Vance, Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said, “Any life lost to gun violence is a tragedy for our city. But homophobic, hate-fueled incidents like this one are particularly unconscionable. As we mourn the lives lost in Orlando, we remain committed to doing everything we can to combat and prevent crimes against L.G.B.T. New Yorkers. We must never allow violence and hate to undermine the progress we have made as a city, a state and a nation.”
At trial, witnesses testified that Morales, 36, encountered Carson, 32, and his friend, Danny Robinson, outside the $1 pizza place on Sixth Ave. near W. Eighth St. As the men argued, with Morales using anti-gay slurs, they moved north and then onto Eighth St. where Morales first displayed a gun and then fired a single shot, striking Carson in the head and killing him. Morales fled east on Eighth St. and was caught by Henry Huot, a uniformed police officer, moments after the shooting. When he was captured, Morales made statements that police recorded in which he admitted killing Carson.
In testifying, Morales, who represented himself, with the assistance of a legal advisor, Adam Freedman, claimed he believed Carson was armed and about to shoot him. He also said that he was drunk, and in cross-examining Robinson elicited testimony that he and Carson had also been drinking.
The jury returned a verdict roughly one day after being sent to deliberate.
Contrasting Morales’ preparedness in the courtroom with the impression he left in his videotaped statement — where he said of Carson, “I fucking shot him dead. Diagnosis dead doctor.” — Bartley said, “You remain as much an enigma to me as the first day you walked into this court.”
The judge also said, “I can’t say I’m surprised that you refuse to accept responsibility for what you’ve done.”
In addressing the court, Morales, who indicated he would appeal his conviction, said it was “beyond my comprehension” how he could be convicted of a hate crime against a gay man since he himself claims to be bisexual.
Robinson testified at trial that Morales called him and Carson “faggot” among other “angry slurs.”
In addition to the conviction on second-degree murder as a hate crime, Morales was found guilty on five counts of criminal possession of a weapon, one count of menacing Officer Huot, who arrested him, and one count of menacing a gay bartender at a West Village restaurant prior to shooting Carson.
He must serve a 15-year sentence consecutively on one of the weapon possession charges, so he would not be eligible for parole until he had served the 25-year minimum for murder plus six-sevenths of the 15-year weapon conviction sentence.
After the sentence had been handed down and Bartley was prepared to adjourn the case, Morales attempted to speak again. The judge, standing up, said, “You will not have the last word here,” and walked out of the courtroom.
Outside the courtroom, Florine Bumpars, Carson’s aunt, asked what she would say to Morales if she had the chance, responded, “I have nothing to say to him. He got what he deserved.”
— Paul Schindler
’95 rape conviction
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr., on Monday announced the conviction of Joseph Giardala, 46, for raping a 25-year-old woman in the West Village in January 1995.
The conviction follows a DNA “cold case hit” in which Giardala’s DNA profile was matched to a “John Doe” profile indicted by the Manhattan D.A.’s Office in 2003.
Giardala was found guilty on all counts, including rape, sexual abuse and robbery in the first degrees, among other charges. He is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 3.
“Had New York City not tackled its own rape-kit backlog more than a decade ago, Joseph Giardala may never have faced justice for this brutal attack,” Vance said. “Convictions like this underscore the necessity of testing backlogged rape kits, and the power of DNA evidence to solve crimes across state lines.
“Just as a DNA profile uploaded in Florida to the national DNA databank helped solve this case, the hundreds of DNA profiles uploaded thus far under our initiative are linking to crimes committed in states around the country. I hope that this conviction provides a sense of closure to this survivor, who took the stand with such bravery more than two decades after her assault, and that our ongoing efforts to test rape kits across the country provide hope to the many survivors nationwide who are still waiting for their cases to be solved.”
According to evidence presented in court, shortly after midnight on Jan. 23, 1995, Giardala attacked the young woman as she walked home from a movie theater in Chelsea. He robbed her at knifepoint before forcing her into the vestibule of a nearby building in the West Village, and raping her. The victim immediately went to St. Vincent’s Hospital following the attack, where the elements of a sexual assault evidence kit, or “rape kit,” were collected.
In 2002, a DNA profile developed from the victim’s rape kit as part of New York City’s Rape Kit Backlog Project was uploaded to the F.B.I.’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, but did not immediately match a preexisting DNA profile. The D.A. presented the criminal case to a New York Supreme Court Grand Jury in 2003, obtaining a “John Doe” indictment listing the perpetrator by his DNA profile.
In early 2015, following an unrelated matter, Giardala’s DNA profile was entered into CODIS in Florida, and matched the DNA profile listed on the West Village “John Doe” indictment.
— Lincoln Anderson
Cup runneth over
An officer said he observed a man in possession of an open container of alcohol in public view in front of 84 Grove St. on Sat., June 11, at 2:35 a.m. After stopping him, the officer found the man was in possession of a gravity knife and that he has multiple convictions.
Miquel Chavis, 36, was arrested for felony criminal possession of a weapon.
Senior snatcher
A woman allegedly had the contents of her purse stolen at the all-night diner Coppelia, at 207 W. 14th St., early Sunday morning, police said. On June 12 at around 12:30 a.m. a 26-year-old woman said she had her purse next to her when a man removed her wallet from inside of it.
Kevin Bell, 69, was arrested for felony grand larceny.
Meatpack glass whack
Catch nightclub at 21 Ninth Ave. got a little rowdy early Thursday morning. A man, 39, told police that on June 9 around 2:30 a.m., another man struck him in the head with a glass, causing a laceration to his forehead. E.M.S. medics responded but the victim refused medical attention.
Police arrested Daniel Yakubov, 31, for felony assault.
— Emily Siegel
