Closing arguments in "Flaco" trial

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Closing arguments in "Flaco" trial

By JOLEEN FERRIS

UTICA - Attorneys for both sides made their closing arguments this morning, the judge instructed the jury and now, Wesley Molina-Cirino's jury is deliberating his fate.

The courtroom was even more full than usual; Utica Police Officers filled the hallway to the courtroom and today, Dave and Kathy Corr joined them. They're the parents of New Hartford Police Officer Joseph Corr - who was shot and killed in the line of duty in February of 2006.

This morning, Defense Attorney Rebecca Wittman made closing arguments first. She spent a lot of time reading the testimony of the prosecution's star witness - Sammy Rivera - back to the jury.

She questioned the feasibility of her client, Defendant Wesley Molina-Cirino - being in the right place, at the right time, with a gun, poised and ready to shoot Officer Lindsey...without any help in getting there.

"If it's by chance, he just happens to be at the scene, packing a .44 or some other large caliber gun weighing about as much as he does?," said Wittman in her closing arguments. "If it's a plan, how does he or anyone know to be there without Sammy Rivera's assistance?"

Of course, the jury could ask themselves, why would Sammy Rivera purposely run a stop sign, with the intent of having a nearby officer pull him over - if he had drugs in the car and on him?

From the prosecution, a powerful start to closing arguments - a montage of police radio transmissions conveying what a chaotic night April 12 was.

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