An imprisoned-for-life cop killer is back on trial in Queens, this time for a shooting committed the night before he gunned down NYPD Officer Russel Timoshenko.
Dexter Bostic shot and killed Timoshenko during a routine traffic stop in Crown Heights on July 9, 2007. A day earlier, prosecutors say, he and his partner-in-crime, Robert Ellis went joyriding in a stolen Porsche with a hooker and decided to find someone to rob – and then shot their victim.
“Ellis was the getaway driver, Bostic was the stick-up man. Bostic jumped out the car fired four shots at Carl Fields, blew his leg open, stole his jewelry, said something to him, jumped back into the car and took off,” said Queens Assistant District Attorney Robert Hanophy in his opening statements.
Bostic and Ellis, both 39, allegedly stole the silver Porsche from the Five Towns Mitsubishi dealership, where he worked, picked up a prostitute in Queens and “flashed guns” in front of her.
The co-horts allegedly showed the working gal a Tek 9 and .45 caliber pistol moments before they drove down Sutphin Boulevard on July 8, 2007, said Hanophy.
Prosecutors intend to prove through video footage, DNA, ballistics and witness testimony that Bostic was the shooter.
“You have to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses,” urged Bostic’s attorney David Cohen who believes the evidence will show that Fields “wasn’t sure” if Bostic was the one who shot him during a 2008 line up.
During Ellis’ trial last year, Fields described his assailant as a man who looked like the “Grim Reaper.”
Ellis, who was acquitted of the Timoshenko murder, but convicted of a gun charge, was found guilty for his involvement with the serious injuries and robbery of Fields. He was sentenced to an extra 25 years in prison, which will run consecutive with the 15 years he received for the gun charge in Brooklyn.
Timoshenko’s mother, Tatyana and other NYPD supporters were in attendance for the openings.