Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III will not seek a first-degree murder charge against the man who shot Buffalo Police Officer Patricia A. Parete in 2006.
Her death was classified a homicide when she died earlier this year.
Varner Harris Jr. already is serving a sentence of 30 years to life for shooting Parete and her police partner, Officer Carl E. Andolina, upon his guilty plea to two counts of first-degree attempted murder.
Sedita, in a letter to Parete’s father, spelled out the reasons for his decision.
“I am told that Patti did not want Harris to be re-prosecuted in the event of her death and the reasons for that decision,” Sedita said in the letter to Anthony Parete. “You, as well as all her other loved ones, have also advised me not to re-open this case and the reasons for that recommendation.”
Sedita said he has dwelled on the matter for several weeks.
“It is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made as a prosecutor,” Sedita said.
“There is no more serious criminal offense under New York law than the murder of a police officer,” Sedita wrote. “Regarding the strength of the proof, I believe the evidence of the defendant’s guilt is compelling. Regarding the defendant’s background, I believe he is an unrepentant criminal and societal menace with little prospect of rehabilitation.”
Harris will not be eligible for parole until 2037.
“It is highly unlikely that Harris will ever be released from state prison,” Sedita said.
Sedita said he would reconsider his decision not to re-open the case and seek a murder indictment if Harris ever successfully appeals his attempted murder conviction.
Now 25 years old, Harris is an inmate at the state’s Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Comstock.
Parete, who was under Hospice care, died on Feb. 2 in her Niagara County home.
She was shot twice during a struggle the night of Dec. 5, 2006, when she and Andolina responded to a fight call at West Chippewa Street and Whitney Place. The second bullet severely damaged her spine and she was paralyzed.
email: plakamp@buffnews.com
Her death was classified a homicide when she died earlier this year.
Varner Harris Jr. already is serving a sentence of 30 years to life for shooting Parete and her police partner, Officer Carl E. Andolina, upon his guilty plea to two counts of first-degree attempted murder.
Sedita, in a letter to Parete’s father, spelled out the reasons for his decision.
“I am told that Patti did not want Harris to be re-prosecuted in the event of her death and the reasons for that decision,” Sedita said in the letter to Anthony Parete. “You, as well as all her other loved ones, have also advised me not to re-open this case and the reasons for that recommendation.”
Sedita said he has dwelled on the matter for several weeks.
“It is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made as a prosecutor,” Sedita said.
“There is no more serious criminal offense under New York law than the murder of a police officer,” Sedita wrote. “Regarding the strength of the proof, I believe the evidence of the defendant’s guilt is compelling. Regarding the defendant’s background, I believe he is an unrepentant criminal and societal menace with little prospect of rehabilitation.”
Harris will not be eligible for parole until 2037.
“It is highly unlikely that Harris will ever be released from state prison,” Sedita said.
Sedita said he would reconsider his decision not to re-open the case and seek a murder indictment if Harris ever successfully appeals his attempted murder conviction.
Now 25 years old, Harris is an inmate at the state’s Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Comstock.
Parete, who was under Hospice care, died on Feb. 2 in her Niagara County home.
She was shot twice during a struggle the night of Dec. 5, 2006, when she and Andolina responded to a fight call at West Chippewa Street and Whitney Place. The second bullet severely damaged her spine and she was paralyzed.
email: plakamp@buffnews.com