Sunday, September 27, 2009

Prosecution Mocks Ex-cop's Claim He Accidentally Shot His Wife in the Head by Thomas Zambito - NY Daily News

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An ex-cop's testimony that he accidentally killed his fiancée while gunning for knife-wielding thugs drew mockery from the prosecution Friday.

Taking the stand in his defense, Harry Rupnarine claims he pulled a pistol when a man jumped out as he walked in Queens with Guiatree Hardat.

"I saw a second guy from the corner of my eye and I turned," Rupnarine testified. "When I turned the gun went off. ...I didn't see her. All I saw was these guys took off."

Prosecutor Jack Warsawsky heaped scorn on his account and suggested Rupnarine shot Hardat in the back of the head during an argument.

"You don't know how she wound up with a bullet hole in her head?" Warsawsky asked.

The prosecutor questioned whether Rupnarine, 39, was upset Hardat's parents complained he was too old for their 22-year-old daughter. "We didn't look at age," the fired transit cop replied, his voice breaking. "We loved each other. ...We had a lover's quarrel over the money for the wedding."

Warsawsky asked if Rupnarine shed a tear as paramedics tended to his dying lover on Atlantic Ave. in Woodhaven on May 10, 2007.

"I don't know," Rupnarine said. "I was in shock."

"Are you crying now or are you trying to cry?" the prosecutor asked.