Well color me stunned. A few days after a jury let Robert Ellis walk for murdering Russell Timoshenko, they also let Lillo Brancato walk for murdering a police officer. To be honest, I never saw that coming.
Former actor Lillo Brancato has been cleared of the most serious charges against him, including murder in the shooting death of off-duty police officer Daniel Enchautegui.
However, the jury did find him guilty of attempted burglary in the first degree and will be sentenced on January 16th.
The jury weighing the case against Lillo Brancato was sent home Friday because a juror had a prior obligation.
Jurors told the judge last week they were deadlocked 11 to 1, and asked the judge for two of the charges to be read to them again.
I have to wonder if the jurors heard about Ellis getting the skate before they made their decision, thinking that if they couldn’t pin a murder rap on him when he was admittedly in the same car a few feet away from the shooting of Timoshenko, how could they in good conscience send Brancato away for a similar offense?
Whatever the case, Brancato will be sentenced soon and I fully expect the judge to show a ton of leniency. I wouldn’t be surprised if rehab was involved, either.
