By Carolyn Thompson
The Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An escaped convict who pleaded guilty to murdering one state trooper and wounding two others now says he thought two of the officers were bounty hunters and that he only shot them after they opened fire.
Ralph “Bucky” Phillips detailed the Aug. 31 shootings of troopers Joseph Longobardo and Donald Baker Jr. in a letter to The Associated Press and local media that he wrote from the Chautauqua County jail, where he is awaiting sentencing.
“I am not guilty of the present offenses against me. Not even close,” said Phillips, who said he wrote the 11-page letter “to expose the truth.”
The 44-year-old career criminal broke out of a Buffalo-area jail in April by using an industrial can opener to cut a hole in kitchen ceiling, authorities said. The escape led to the largest manhunt in state history.
In November, he pleaded guilty to aggravated murder for killing Longobardo and attempted murder for wounding Baker as the troopers staked out his ex-girlfriend’s home during a summer-long search for him.
Phillips also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Trooper Sean Brown, who was shot during a traffic stop near Elmira on June 10.
In his letter, he said he pleaded guilty in exchange for promises that charges against his daughter, Patrina Wright, and her mother, Kasey Crowe, would be dropped. Crowe was charged with hindering prosecution during the five-month search, while Wright was charged with child endangerment for allegedly allowing her children to be present for a Phillips visit.
He now wants to withdraw the pleas, saying that he told authorities following what he called his “five month adventure” that he believed Baker and Longobardo were bounty hunters, and that he did not plan to shoot them.
Trooper Rebecca Gibbons, a state police spokeswoman, said Phillips acknowledged in court Nov. 29 that he knew state police were conducting surveillance on his family and friends.
“He did in fact plead guilty to shooting and injuring two troopers and killing another one,” she said. “And he said that he was doing this freely.”
Calls to Phillips’ attorney, Chemung County public defender Richard Rich, were not returned. Calls to Chautauqua County District Attorney David Foley and John DeFranks, Erie County’s first deputy district attorney, were not immediately returned. It was unclear whether charges against Wright and Crowe had been dropped.
Phillips, who also has pleaded guilty to escape, is expected to get life in prison without parole when he is sentenced Dec. 19.