Mystery Witness Could Influence Bell Jury
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A surprise witness has stepped forward in the Sean Bell case, adding a new wrinkle to the grand jurors’ tense deliberations over whether to indict any of the police officers who fired their weapons during the fatal incident last year.
The president of the Detective’s Endowment Association, Michael Palladino, said he was fighting to have the grand jury hear the mystery witness’s testimony. A spokesman for the Queens district attorney’s office, Kevin Ryan, said prosecutors were aware of the witness but would not comment.
Sources said prosecutors haven’t decided if the witness would be allowed to testify. The grand jury adjourned at 7 p.m. last night and will reconvene this morning.
“He was a civilian in the area and he may very well have seen the fourth person who shot at them and ran away,” Mr. Palladino said, adding that he had appeared at a police precinct asking to testify yesterday. “If the witness has vital information … he must go before the grand jury if the city of New York is to have a thorough investigation.”
A lawyer who represents Sean Bell’s family, Peter St. George Davis, said a last-minute witness was suspicious. “I tend to doubt the veracity or motivations of anybody who steps forward at the 11th hour,” he said. He said he did not know the identity of the witness.
Sources said the witness might be China Flores, a man who claimed to be an eyewitness in the days just after the November 25 shooting. Flores was interviewed in newspapers early in the case and later picked up by police for questioning. Flores has a history of run-ins with the law, according to a Daily News article for which he was interviewed. He couldn’t be reached for comment last night.
The 22 grand jurors have been listening to testimony for more than a month. The case culminated over the last two weeks with all five officers as well as Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman appearing before the grand jury to tell their account of the night. It is widely speculated that the officer who first opened fire, Gescard Isnora, and the officer who fired 31 shots, Michael Oliver, are more likely to be indicted than the other officers.
