Suspended Officer Guilty of Killing 3 Youths
A suspended police officer was convicted Saturday of shooting three teen-agers to death, including one who had filed a brutality lawsuit against him.
Prosecutors said Robert Sabetta Jr., 25, walked into a car repair shop on April 13, 1993, and shot four teen-agers because he feared for his job at the Foster Police Department. The fourth teen-ager was injured and another man escaped harm by hiding under a car.
Killed were Frank Sherman, 16, his brother, Charles Sherman III, 17, and their friend, Jeremy Bullock, 19. The shootings occurred two weeks after Sabetta was indicted on a charge of smashing Frank Sherman’s mouth with a flashlight during a traffic stop. Police believe that Sabetta wanted revenge for the lawsuit.
“It’s a big load off of me, off of all of us,” Joshua Bullock, the 21-year-old brother of Jeremy, said of the verdict.
The jury reached the verdict in about four hours, and Judge Dominic Cresto scheduled sentencing for July 20. John Cicilline, Sabetta’s defense lawyer, said he would appeal the convictions.
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