Dec 15, 2008 7:26 pm US/Eastern
Risky: 'A Bronx Tale' Actor Takes Stand
Brancato Jr. Defends Himself, Much To Dismay Of Many
Actor Charged In 2005 Murder Of Officer Daniel Enchautegui
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Lillo Brancato Jr., 32, who appeared in the 1993 movie "A Bronx Tale" with Robert De Niro as well as in "The Sopranos," is facing second-degree murder charges.
AP
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A moving memorial was held for Officer Daniel Enchautegui following his murder in December of 2005.
CBS
The one-time star of the film "A Bronx Tale," now on trial for the murder of a city cop, on Monday took the stand in his own defense. CBS 2 HD was in the courtroom as Lillo Brancato described his state of mind during the shooting.
Brancato's mother and father had an understandably concerned look on their faces as they entered a Bronx court on Monday because their son was on the witness stand, leaving himself open to a brutal cross-examination by Bronx assistant district attorney Terry Gottlieb. And on the opposing side, there was the equally worried look of Yolanda Rosa Nazario, even as she was saluted by a row of police.
Nazario is the sister of police officer Daniel Enchautegui. And she has to wonder if the jury believes Brancato was breaking into the house next to Enchautegui's to steal drugs -- and no one disputes Enchautegui was awakened by the sound of breaking glass next door. If so, Brancato would be liable for officer Enchautegui's murder, even though Brancato did not have a gun and, in fact, got shot.
As Brancato said on the stand: "I heard someone say, `Don't move.'... I turned around quickly and I was shot twice."
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch wasn't buying Brancato's testimony.
"He broke that glass," Lynch said, "with the intent to commit a crime. That's burglary!"
CBS 2 HD asked Brancato's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, about the danger of putting his client on the stand.
CBS 2 HD: "Mr. Tacopina, it is a calculated risk to do this. You leave your client open for cross-examination."
Tacopina: "Thanks, I feel better now. I'll tell you why: a lot of the facts are not in dispute. What is in dispute is Lillo's state of mind. And it would be really hard to argue with a jury Lillo's state of mind -- be it A, B or C -- when he's sitting right there and he didn't share that with the jury. This is a state of mind defense."
Gottlieb said if Brancato was going to a friend's to get drugs, what kind of friend doesn't know his friend has been dead for four months?
"He's lying!" Lynch said. "He's reading from a script! He's not 'Leave it to Beaver!'"
If the jury agrees that Brancato meant to break into, that is, burglarize, that house to support the heroin habit Brancato himself said on the stand made him "a mess … Even my hair was hurting," then these cops will have a bigger reason to applaud.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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