Ex-NYPD Cop Who Opened Fire On Men In Car Begins Prison Sentence
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Brendan Cronin, the former NYPD officer who inexplicably opened fire on two strangers in a car in Pelham last year, surrendered his freedom Tuesday.
Cronin reported to Westchester County Court to begin his prison term. He is expected to be given nine years when he is formally sentenced.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Cronin pleaded guilty last week to two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and driving while intoxicated in the April 2014 incident.
Ex-NYPD Cop Who Opened Fire On Men In Car Begins Prison Sentence
Authorities said Cronin, who was off duty, was drunk when he opened fire on a car stopped at a red light. Cronin did not offer an explanation for his actions when he entered his plea. He initially claimed he blacked out after a day of police weapons training and heavy drinking.
Robert Borelli and his friend Joseph Felice were headed home from a hockey game at the time of the attack. Felice was shot six times and barely survived.
"I have approximately 85 percent range of motion in my right arm, which is basically steel," Felice told WCBS 880's Sean Adams. "I still have a bullet lodged in my chest."
For Borelli, Tuesday was not a happy day, but a just day.
"A little bit of closure finally getting to see Officer Cronin handcuffed and being brought away," said Borelli, who was not wounded.
"I can still remember the carnage in the car, the blood in the back of the seat," he said.
Now Borelli and Felice are moving forward with a civil lawsuit against New York City and the NYPD.
"The city of New York put that gun in this man's hand," said attorney Randolph McLaughlin.
