Charged in Bronx slay
NYPD OFFICER Alfredo Jeff, whose mom died two weeks ago after 23 years as a cop, carries a piece of hers with him.
Jeff, 25, received his late mother’s 9-mm. service weapon Friday in a ceremony at the 10th Precinct stationhouse that served as a passing of the family’s law enforcement torch.
“I want to continue to help people exactly like she did,” said Jeff, on the force three years. “Just to have that firearm with me really means lot. It’s a big responsibility.”
His mother Deborah Garbutt, 50, died April 3 after a long battle against cancer when the disease spread into her lymph nodes.
Jeff silently slipped his mom’s gun into her holster, staring somberly at the gun for several minutes. The young cop then clipped the holster to his belt. Jeff, who works out of the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn, said Garbutt provided a role model as both a parent and a cop throughout her life.
“As a mother and a police officer, she was always that nice, caring woman,” Jeff said. “She was basically my best friend. She was a wonderful, genuine, caring person.
“She always wanted to listen in and give the best advice — as a mother and as a police officer.”
Jeff will not carry the weapon on duty, but will keep it in his precinct locker or his home for the rest of his life. POLICE HAVE apprehended a suspect in the execution-style killing of a 24-year-old Bronx man, officials said.
Roberto Jimenez was standing outside his home on Park Ave. near E. 187th St. in Fordham Heights at about 10:15 p.m. on April 8, when James Johnson, 36, stepped out of a darkcolored car.
Johnson allegedly walked up to Jimenez, shot him in the back of the head, then got back in his vehicle and took off, cops said.
Paramedics rushed Jimenez to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died of his injuries Tuesday.
On Thursday, cops arrested Johnson, who was charged with murder and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. His arraignment was pending Friday.
A motive for the slaying was not disclosed.