Shooting trial may wrap up today

WESTCHESTER>> The trial of a Coatesville man accused of trying to shoot and kill two city police officers during a routine pedestrian stop, and who was then shot himself by the officers, could wrap up as early as Monday.

Common Pleas Judge Patrick Carmody on Friday told the 12 jurors and three alternates hearing the case against Andrew Emmett “Needles” Fiorentino that he would try to see that the case was presented to them for deliberations on Monday, after four days of testimony last week.

But Carmody said that he could make no promises and that the trial might have to be extended into Tuesday, depending how testimony proceeds. At least two jurors have alerted the court that they had obligations that would keep from service past Monday — the reason for the presence of the three alternates.

The prosecution has called almost one dozen witnesses in its case thus far — including the two officers involved in the shooting, Detective Joseph Thompson and Officer Ryan Corcoran. The witness list has included members of the Chester County Detectives unit that investigated the shooting, other members of the Coatesville police department who were called to the scene that night, as well as medical personnel, a DNA expert, and others.

Led by Deputy District Attorney Carlos Barraza and Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Morgan, the prosecution contends that Fiorentino purposefully fired at least two shot at Thompson and Corcoran during a confrontation in the 700 block of Merchant Street. He is charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated as- sault, recklessly endangering another person, and weapons offenses.

“He tried to kill two police officers who were simply trying to do their job, and keep their community safe,” Morgan contended in her opening statement to the jury last week. “Every police officer knows when they leave the home to go to work that day, that it just might be their last. They don’t like it. It’s not fun. But they do it because it’s their job.”

The defense is also expected to call witnesses of its own, but it is unknown whether Fiorentino will take the stand to testify in his own defense. Attorney Paul Hetznecker of Philadelphia, representing Fiorentino, has rejected the prosecution’s version of the shooting, suggesting that Thompson and Corcoran fired at Fiorentino without provocation.

“If you believe that the officers are telling

the truth, your belief will be shattered by the time this trial is over,” Hetznecker said in his opening speech to the panel. “The truth of the guilt or innocence of my client rests with the physical evidence and the facts as (police) found them. I am asking for your courage to find the truth about what happened that night.”

The trial has been contentious, with multiple sidebar conferences out of the jury’s hearing, during which objections by one side or another were argued. The pace of the trial was also hampered by the loss of one day last week as the Chester County Justice Center closed because of a power outage from Tuesday’s wind storm.

This much is agreed upon: Fiorentino, 33, was walking along Merchant Street around 1 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2013, when he was approached by Thompson and Corcoran in a Dodge Charger city patrol car. Fiorentino, Hetznecker has pointed out, lived on the street.

In his testimony, Thompson said that he saw Fiorentino, who he did not know at the time, drop down behind on of the cars parked on the south side of Merchant Street as he pulled alongside. He told his partner that night, Corcoran, “We’re going to get out on this guy,” and quickly hopped out of his patrol car.

Thompson testified that when he confronted Fiorentino and asked for his ID, the man backed away, grabbed his waist band, and turned and ran. The two officers ran after him for about one half of a block.

Thompson and Corcoran testified they saw Fiorentino turn and face them, first Thompson and then Corcoran. Both said that although they did not clearly see a weapon in his hand, they both saw flashes from the muzzle of a gun. They both drew their weapons after seeing the flashes and fired at Fiorentino — first Thompson, then Corcoran. He suffered abdominal injuries, and lost one of his kidneys.

Investigators later determined that the pair had fired eight shots at Fiorentino. He was struck multiple times. Police say they found two weapons that night — a .38-caliber revolver at the scene lying on the pavement, and a .40-caliber semi-automatic inside the ambulance that took Fiorentino to Paoli Hospital, where he was operated on.

Neither Thompson nor Corcoran was hit by bullet fire.

But testimony about the gunshot wounds that Fiorentino suffered has been unclear. No medical expert has been able to tes- tify whether the wounds to the front and back of his body were entrance or exit wounds, leaving it up to the attorneys to provide context they hope the jury will accept — either that he was shot facing the officers or turned away from them.

Fiorentino, a native of Coatesville with a police record stemming back to the 1990s, has been held in Chester County Prison since his arrest following the shooting.

Fiorentino