April 1, 2009

3rd man sentenced in NYPD traffic-stop murder

BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND JOHN VALENTI

NEW YORK - The last of three men charged in the traffic-stop slaying of an NYPD patrolman has been sentenced to life without parole for murder.

Lee Woods was sentenced Wednesday in Queens. A jury found the 31-year-old guilty in March in the death of Officer Russel Timoshenko (tim-o-SHANK'-o) and the attempted murder of his partner, Herman Yan.

Prosecutors say Woods and two others acted as a team to shoot the officers in 2007 after being caught with a stolen SUV. Yan was hit in the chest, but his bulletproof vest saved him.

Dexter Bostic received a life sentence plus 55 years for murder. Robert Ellis was convicted of weapons possession and sentenced to 15 years.

Woods was retried after a mistrial last year. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says he hopes Woods' sentence provides some solace to Timoshenko's family.