Newsday from New York, New York • 38

30 CITYlBRIEFS Murder Defense for Cops. OFFICERS from Page 5 ow of doubt on the medical examiners findings. As far as I'm concerned, theres no proof this was manually caused by compression to the chest or neck," said Bruce Smirti, attorney for McMorrow. I think it occurred as a result of cocaine overdose. Pereiras autopsy report revealed that he had high levels of cocaine in his body, but concluded that the drug did not contribute to his death.

Similar medical evidence has been successfully challenged before. In a 1986 case that bears an eerie resemblance to the Pereira case, Jose Llopis-Perez died of asphyxiation, the autopsy report said, and three witnesses testified that they saw a police officer press his foot on the victims larynx. The officer was acquitted. Llopis-Perez also had cocaine in his system. Smirti represented the officer.

The tape of the radio transmission during the arrest reveals screaming. The defense lawyers say it is Pereira screaming in his cocaine-induced frenzy; the Pereira family lawyer Bays he is screaming because he is being beaten. Then comes the question of justifiable use of force. When police take actions on duty, the justifiable use of force is much different than a civilian using force, Cerrone said. The lawyers also said the credibility of the three eyewitnesses will be an issue at trial.

The three are neighborhood teenagers, each with an arrest record. Anthony Hickok, 17, was once arrested for stealing a Mets championship cup from Shea Stadium; Ronald Harman, 18, is on probation for a 1990 car theft conviction; and Thomas Zarobinski, 18, is on probation for shooting a youth with a BB gun. But Hector Soto, who is representing Hickok, said: Even if the witnesses were mass murderers does not mean they did not see what they saw on February fifth. last week, Santucci said that only one officer is accused of choking Pereira to death and that not all of the officers kicked and punched the victim. But Santucci has refused to reveal what roles he believes the individual officers played.

Richard Piperno, spokesman for Santucci, refused to comment yesterday. The murder count charges that the officers killed Pereira, 21, whom they found sleeping in a stolen car, by acting in concert under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life. Both legal theories are difficult to prove. Eyewitnesses have said the two uniform officers Loefell and McMorrow didnt participate in the beating. Two witnesses said a plainclothes officer stepped on Pereira as he was handcuffed and lying on the pavement, while another identified by one witness as Papparella applied the camel clutch wrestling hold.

The five officers told the grand jury that no one choked Pereira and that he injured himself by beating his head on the sidewalk, sources said. The mere presence at the scene of a crime is not, as a matter of law, acting in concert, said attorney Marvyn Kornberg, who represents Loefell. You must show that the person joined in the conspiracy or the act of the other intentionally and knowingly. George Cerrone, attorney for Goldblatt, said acting in concert, in its purist form, is a group of people, all with the same mindset, deciding to go across the street and rob a jewelry store. That theory cant be applied to police in the conduct of police business, he contends.

The defense attorneys have also begun to question the autopsy report, which concluded that Pereira was choked to death by two hands at the throat, as Santucci put it. Joseph Librie, attorney for Papparella, said defense medical experts cast a huge shad- Beaten Man Suspected in Holdup Sentence in 89 Death The killer of a Queens honor student was sentenced yesterday to 27Vi years to life in prison for the October, 1989 murder of 17-year-old Donald White. Michael Allen, 18, of Queens, was given the maximum sentences for murder, criminal possession of a weapon and escape by State Supreme Court Justice Alan Levine, who called the crime a senseless tragedy. Donald-White was shot five times in the head and chest on his way to a Laundromat to do the family wash. Witnesses at the trial testified that Allen approached and shot White because he looked like he wanted to be somebody and I wanted to know what it was like to shoot someone in the head, according to prosecutor Daniel Sullivan.

Wendy Lin Housing Plan Stalled A proposed housing development dose to a Westchester County reservoir serving New York City has been sent back to the drawing board after a judge found that the dty, concerned about possible contamination of its drinking water, was unfairly exduded from the planning process. In response to a consent settlement signed last week by State Supreme Court Justice John R. LaCava, the Town of Somers revoked its approval of the Granite Pointe subdivision 26 homes to have been built near die Amawalk Reservoir. The dty had filed suit in July to block the development, claiming that some septic systems were just 200 feet from the reservoir. Under the terms of the settlement, the developers must resubmit a draft impact statement containing more information about the septic system.

Chapin Wright Ex-Student Jailed A former Queensborough Community College student has been sentenced to six to 18 years in prison for setting off a bomb in a school hallway on May 4, 1989. Peter Kruczko, 23, of 85-20 152nd St, Jamaica, pleaded guilty Wednesday to arson, reckless endangerment and possession of a dangerous weapon. He admitted that he planted a homemade pipebomb at the school and attached a note protesting tuition increases proposed by Gov. Mario Cuomo. No one was hurt in the blast, which occurred outside the library, and there was no structural damage.

Wendy Lin Drive-By Shooting A Brooklyn man was killed and his companion injured late Wednesday during a drive-by shooting in Crown Heights. Police said Ronnie Fisher, 20, and Eric Starling, 24, were standing on the corner of Dean and Kingston Streets about 11:30 p.m., when they were shot at by a passenger in an unidentified car. Fisher died after being struck in the back; Starling was in critical condition at Kings County Hospital Center after being struck in the head. Detectives in the 77th Precinct said police had no suspects or motive. Anyone with information about the shooting should call (718) 735-0661.

David Kbcieniewski Trash Haulers Cut The rate that private carting firms can charge for hauling garbage from dty businesses will be reduced for the first time, the Department of Consumer Affairs said yesterday. The department first announced the reduction in November, but a public hearing was required before it could be implemented. The reduction of 7.5 percent, from $14.70 a cubic yard to $13.60 a cubic yard, takes effect May 6. William Murphy has not told me of any involvement in the case. We dont know about it.

Four officers charged in the beating appeared in court yesterday and were given a trial date of May 13. Sgt. Stacey Koon, 40, and Officers Laurence Powell, 28, and Timothy Wind, 30, and Theodore Briseno, 38, were charged with assault and police brutality. The beating prompted an FBI investigation of the departments Foothill Division and a nationwide Justice Department probe of police tactics. King and his wife are seeking $83 million in a claim filed against the dty on Tuesday.

If the city does not respond within 45 days, King is free to file a lawsuit. Also yesterday, the Rev. A1 Sharp ton, who attended the officers hearing, said he would lead a march from Los Angeles City Hall to the police headquarters today. Sharpton hoped to call attention to police brutality nationwide, said spokeswoman Madelyn Chap- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Los Angeles The police department said the motorist who was beaten on videotape is a Buspect in a holdup and the investigation has been turned over to the state attorney general to avoid any conflict of interest. Rodney King, who was severely injured March 3, is suspected in the Feb.

21 robbery of a San Fernando Valley electronics store in which an employee was shot and wounded, police Cmdr. Rick Dinse said Wednesday. The holdup occurred in the Foothill Division, the jurisdiction where King, 25, a paroled armed robber, was pulled over for speeding and beaten with nightsticks, kicked and shocked with a stun gun. Dinse would not say how King was implicated in the armed robbery. He said the police department asked the attorney general to investigate.

In all fairness to Mr. King, we want to avoid any conflict of interest here, Dinse said. Kings attorney, Steven Lerman, said: My client man. Feds Set for Downtown Expansion The federal government said it will award $700 million in contracts today for design and development of two downtown Manhattan projects a new federal office building and a federal courthouse in the Foley Square area. The new federal complex is being financed with a combination of federal and private money and will be built on former city parking lots that the General Services Administration condemned.

The new federal courthouse will house some of the offices and courtrooms of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts in Manhattan and U.S. Marshals offices. The current federal courts building will continue to be used by both the circuit and district courts. The new federal office building may house the Environmental Protection Agency and parts of the Internal Revenue Service.

It will also take the overflow from other federal agencies now at 26 Federal Plaza. The General Services Administration, which oversees the projects for the government, declined to name the developers being considered. Pat Wechsler Heist on Postal Truck in Queens NEW YORK NEWSDAY, FRIDAY. MARCH 29. 1991 Two bags of mail were stolen Wednesday by armed robbers who held up a postal truck in Queens.

Police said the truck was headed south on the Whitestone Expressway about 6:30 p.m. when four men in a white BMW cut the driver off. Two of the men, both carrying guns, forced their way into the cab and ordered the driver to get off the expressway at the Curtis Street-31st Avenue exit. There, the men stole two- bags of registered mail and locked the driver in the trailer, which was half-full with mail, police said. They drove off in the BMW.

The driver was not injured. Postal officials would not reveal where the mail originated, but Pat McGovern, a department spokeswoman, said the bags contained only internal post office correspondence; no customer mail was taken. David Kbcieniewski i rl 1l fiq i r-vfivrt I I IT I I i.