|
 ELMIRA---Ralph "Bucky" Phillips was sentenced to prison for 40 years to life Wednesday for shooting state trooper Sean Brown in June during a traffic stop, a shooting which triggered the largest ever statewide manhunt for Phillips and ultimately resulted in the shooting of two more troopers in August before Phillips was apprehended in September in a cornfield near the Pennsylvania-New York border.
Phillips appeared before Chemung County Judge Peter C. Buckley for sentencing on his guilty plea entered in November to four counts, including aggravated attempted murder, for the shooting of Brown.
Brown has since recovered.
Phillips, 44, a career criminal, had been sentenced Tuesday in state Supreme COUrt in both Chautauqua and Erie Counties to life in a maximum security state prison without parole for the Aug. 31 shooting death of Trooper Joseph Longobardo, 32, of Middle Grove, and 40 years to life for wounding of Trooper Donald Baker, 38, of Halfmoon. Baker is recuperating at home.
Longobardo and Baker were ambushed on Aug. 31 when they were on a surveillance near the residence of Phillips' former girlfriend, Kasey Crowe, in Pomfret, Chautauqua County.
Charges against Crowe and their daughter, Patrina Gloss, for allegedly harboring and assisting Phillips while he was at large will be dismissed in exchange for his guilty pleas according to the Chautauqua County district attorney's office. They did not attend either proceeding.
In a victim impact statement, Brown said "Let the no-good coward enjoy his family and his so-called supporters from behind bars for the rest of his miserable life".
Although he had pleaded guilty in November, Phillips later unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his guilty plea and to change attorneys.
Prior to his capture in September, Phillips had been on the run for over five months after escaping from the Erie County Jail in early April where he had been incarcerated for a minor parole violation and had been scheduled to be released within a week. He escaped by prying open a roof vent in the jail's kitchen area with a can opener. He has spent 20 of his last 23 years in prison.
Phillips has also been sentenced to 25 years to life for the escape.
He was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List and had once threatened to "splatter pig meat all over Chautauqua County".
During his appearance in Chautauqua County Tuesday, Phillips told the Baker and Longobardo families he was sorry but said he didn't know the men were police officers. He said he "never meant to kill anybody".
Longobardo's widow, Teri, and Baker's wife, Tracy, were present in the courtroom Tuesday but neither spoke during the proceeding.
They had submitted victim impact statements but they were not read aloud during the proceeding. 12-20-06
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed by anyone without the express written permission of the publisher. This article is copyright protected.
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
|
