By:Jerry Burke
Now 24-year-old Mario Flores will serve a severely reduced sentenced on the three other charges on which a jury found him guilty.
Naverette, a nightclub owner from Franklin Square, was shot three times by Flores on Feb. 12, 2003, outside a Carol Street, Lakeview, home. An hour later, after being brought to Mercy Medical Center, Naverette was pronounced dead.
Police say Flores fled the scene but was arrested less then five hours later, hiding in a Copiague motel.
Flores admitted to police that he shot Naverette, but claimed that he was defending himself. While the Oct. 20 verdict cleared him of intentional murder, the depraved-indifference murder charge stuck.
The problem was that Nassau County Court Judge Donald DeRiggi, now retired, had dismissed the charge at a Dec. 19, 2003, hearing. No one from District Attorney Denis Dillon's office or Flores's defense team had noticed the error until last week.
"Upon entering that verdict into our computer system, my office realized that a significant error had occurred in this trial," Dillon said in the letter sent to Nassau County Court Judge Jeffrey S. Brown, who presided over the trial, and Flores' current lawyer, Ernest Peace of Mineola.
The murder charge would have carried a 25-years-to-life sentence. Now, when Brown will sentence Flores on Monday, Dec. 6, he will serve time only for the two gun charges, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and a charge of tampering with physical evidence.
Dillon's spokeswoman, Katie Grilli-Robles, said Flores could receive 5 to 15 years in prison on the gun charges, and if Brown imposes consecutive sentences, the most time he could serve is 6 to 20 years.
Grilli-Robles said that Nassau Assistant District Attorney Gregg Turkin, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant District Attorney Martin Meaney, who was on the case when the depraved-indifference count was dismissed and failed to note it in his file, have been disciplined. She said both should have known of the December ruling's impact on the case.
According to Lt. Dennis Farrell of the Nassau County Homicide Squad, both Naverette and Flores were romantically involved with 27-year-old Lesly Santiago. According to friends of the couple, Naverette and Santiago had been together for about four years.
Police say that Santiago, who had lived with Naverette for a brief time, began seeing Flores about four months before the shooting, though one of Naverette's friends said that Santiago and Naverette were thinking of getting married. Once Naverette discovered the relationship, police said, he and Flores had several confrontations, though police were never called.
Farrell said the events leading up to the shooting began at 4:25 p.m. that February day. According to the police account, Flores, Santiago and another male friend drove to Santiago's Lakeview home to pick up her 7-year-old daughter. A few minutes later, Naverette arrived there, pulled his car in front of Flores's, got out and approached the driver's side of his rival's car.
Police say Flores was in possession of a .38 caliber revolver, and shot Naverette twice through his car window. The shots hit the victim in the head and stomach. As Naverette fell to the ground, Farrell said, Flores exited his car and shot Naverette one last time. Flores then fled the scene.
According to police, Naverette left behind two children. Grilli-Robles said the family has been notified of the dismissal, but they could not be reached for comment.
Comments about this story? JBurke@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
