A North Carolina man has been convicted of killing a New York City Police officer from West Babylon after the cop killer tried to rob a drug dealer during a Brooklyn home invasion in December 2011.
A Brooklyn jury found Lamont Pride guilty Monday of second-degree murder, burglary and manslaughter, but found him not guilty of the more serious charge of first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors said the 28-year-old gunman fatally shot NYPD Officer Peter Figoski, a 47-year-old divorced father of four, when police interrupted Pride and four others during the robbery try.
Pride’s defense attorney reportedly argued that his client accidentally shot the officer in the face while trying to flee the scene.
Figoski’s partner apprehended Pride shortly later.
Michael Velez, Pride’s 22-year-old co-defendant, was tried before the same judge but a separate jury will begin deliberating his case Monday.
Two other suspects, 28-year-old Nelson Morales and 31-year-old Kevin Santos, both of Queens, have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
A fifth man involved in the robbery, 23-year-old Ariel Tejada of Queens, had pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the others in exchange for a lighter sentence.
