Mar 28, 2007 9:13 pm US/Eastern
New Arrest Made In Sean Bell Shooting Case
Suspect Arrested For Witness Tampering, Intimidating
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
CBS 2 has learned a man was arrested Wednesday for witness tampering in the Sean Bell case.
The suspect, identified as Melvin Cordero, has been charged with one count of witness tampering in the fourth degree and one count of intimidating the 11th-hour witness who testified in the grand jury trial that led to three police officers being indicted.
Sources said Cordero tried to intimidate the witness just days before he was set to testify. The witness told police that Cordero allegedly intimidated him not to come forward, fearing that his testimony might help the police officers charged in the Bell shooting, sources added.
The witness still testified, although his story was deemed to be not critical in the case.
Cordero, 46, is a cleaner with Meridian Cleaners, which is contracted to Clean Air Train Stations in Jamaica, where police said the crime occurred. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon and is expected to be arraigned in Kew Gardens, police said.
The district attorney's office said one of the major purposes of grand jury secrecy is to protect witnesses from outside interference that could affect their testimony.
"This office will not tolerate the intimidation of, or tampering with, witnesses and is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who engage in such conduct," District Attorney Richard Brown said in a written statement.
Bell, 23, was killed the morning of Nov. 25 after his bachelor party at a Queens topless bar, the Kalua Cabaret. The police shooters, who were conducting an undercover vice operation at the club, claim they believed Bell and his friends were retrieving a gun from his car to settle a dispute.
When one of the officers approached the car, it lurched forward and bumped him, then twice rammed into an unmarked police minivan as the bullets flew until the vehicle stopped, police said.
CBS 2 and wcbstv.com will continue to monitor this developing story and provide new information as it becomes available.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
