Boston Herald
BOSTON — A “throwaway” teen whose wounded pride precipitated the controversial murder of an off-duty Revere police officer was sentenced to eight-to-12 years in state prison today after pleading guilty to being an accessory.
Derek Lodie, 19, a high school dropout and associate of the Bloods gang, did not trigger the gun that fatally shot officer Daniel Talbot, 30, between the eyes behind Revere High School on Sept. 29, 2007, but acknowledged he triggered Talbot’s death nonetheless by calling in armed backup after the cop insulted him.
But if there was finger pointing to be done, Lodie’s defense attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., inflamed tensions in the packed courtroom by telling Judge Patrick Brady Talbot’s killing all started with law enforcement “taunting and teasing a homeless boy who was just passing by.
“It began,” Carney said, “with a group of adults drinking in a public park in a town, (talking) and acting like there were in a gang.”
Carney later told reporters, “Fighting takes place among teenagers all the time and people walk away. That’s all that was expected to happen here.”
The silent thin blue line of the Revere Police Department seemed more like a chasm in Norfolk Superior Court as Talbot’s younger brother tearfully told Brady he was “angry” with the sentence, saying “the system Danny fought to protect” was letting him down.
“Derek Lodie made the phone call that ended Danny’s life,” Paul Talbot said. “He should be held accountable.”
But Brady, who went along with the plea agreement even though he’s not required to, said, “Given the overall circumstances in which the tragedy occurred, I think the sentence recommended is fair and appropriate.”
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley later said, “We believe this was a very well-thought-out and solid recommendation that punishes his conduct. Anyone who’s been at (MCI-)Walpole for eight years knows this is hardly a light sentence.”
Paul Talbot’s “feelings are completely understandable,” he said.
Lodie, who pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact of manslaughter, will be eligible for parole in eight years. Conley declined to say if he’s agreed to testify against his pal Robert Iacoviello, the accused shooter who faces trial in January for murder.
Having just left a nearby restaurant, Talbot, his fiancee Constance Bethell, three fellow off-duty officers and a cooler of beer showed up at the Revere High baseball field about 1:30 a.m. and had been there only minutes when Lodie cut through wearing red clothing - the Bloods’ calling card.
Lodie, said prosecutor Edmond Zabin, “did not know at the time” the group he was about to encounter were cops, and, in fact, mistook them for rival thugs.
“None of the police officers was in uniform or wearing any clothing or insignia of the Revere Police Department,” Zabin said.
Talbot, a five-year veteran of the force who worked the gang unit, “made a comment about (Lodie) that he was wearing red and appeared to be a gangster,” Zabin said.
Talbot pressed on with “disparaging remarks about the Bloods street gang,” he said.
Lodie called Iacoviello, a fellow Bloods associate, who Zabin said turned up at the high school with a 9mm semiautomatic and shot Talbot in the head as Lodie, still arguing, lured Talbot to his death.
Talbot’s mother, Patricia Talbot, sobbing and carrying an oxygen tank, thrust a framed photograph of her first born in uniform into Lodie’s face today, but the shackled and shaking youth did not acknowledge her.
“You are the one who had my son murdered because of your actions,” she said, her hands trembling violently. “Tears come to my eyes when I think of the piece of my heart that can’t be replaced.”
Patricia Talbot said she didn’t expect preferential treatment because her son was a cop.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a police officer or just a man on the street,” she said. “No one has the right to kill anyone.”
Bethell and Talbot, who’d been sweethearts for nine years, had just bought a house together and planned to marry on Oct. 4, 2008.
“I now live my life with the last image of Dan gasping for air as I held his hand and told him to be strong,” Bethell said. “I will forever wonder what my life would have been like if Dan had not been taken from me so soon.”
Today’s sentencing was moved from Suffolk Superior Court in Boston to Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham to accommodate Brady’s schedule.
Copyright 2009 Boston Herald