Thread: FL: Murder charge disputed in BSO deputy's slaying

http://link.toolbot.com/miami.com/55484

Posted on Wed, Jan. 17, 2007

SLAYING OF DEPUTY BRIAN TEPHFORD
Murder charge disputed in BSO deputy's slaying
Citing recently released evidence, a Broward attorney says his client should not be charged with murder in the Nov. 11 killing of a Broward deputy.

BY NIKKI WALLER
nwaller@MiamiHerald.com

ACCUSED: Andre Delancy is being held without bail on murder charges.
BROWARD SHERIFF'S OFFICE

An attorney for one of the men charged in the November killing of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy is asking a judge to release his client from jail.

In a motion filed Tuesday, Assistant Public Defender H. Dohn Williams said recently released ballistics evidence shows that Andre Delancy, 19, was not the man who fatally shot Deputy Brian Tephford and wounded another deputy.

COULD GO TO KROME

Delancy would not be sent home to await trial even if the judge rules in his favor, because he is an illegal alien. If released, he would likely be transferred to the Krome immigration detention facility in Miami-Dade County.

Still, a bond hearing will force prosecutors to present some theory or evidence as to why Delancy, initially charged as an accessory to the crime, should be tried for Tephford's murder, Williams said.

''What overwhelming piece of evidence did they develop from the time he was arrested to the time he was indicted?'' Williams asked. ``Clearly, he's an accessory after the fact.''

Last month, a grand jury indicted Delancy, Eloyn Devon Ingraham, 28, and Bernard Forbes, 22, on murder charges, along with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and attempted first-degree premeditated murder.

All three are being held without bail in Broward's main jail.

Tephford was slain during a traffic stop near the Versailles Gardens apartment complex in Tamarac after he pulled over a tan Toyota with suspicious registration.

According to his statement to police, Ingraham was riding in the Toyota's passenger seat beside his girlfriend. He told police he was nervous during the traffic stop because he had a marijuana cigar tucked behind his ear.

Deputy Corey Carbocci arrived for backup, but as Tephford sat in his cruiser checking the registration on his computer, police say, one or more people jumped out of the Toyota and began firing.

NOT WEARING VEST

Tephford was fatally shot in the chest. He was not wearing a bulletproof vest. Carbocci, who was wearing a vest, was shot in the chest and leg.

Carbocci has fingered Ingraham as the man who shot him.

Ballistics analysis shows that two guns were used in the shooting, but bullets from only one gun killed Tephford and struck Carbocci -- proving, says Williams, that his client was not the killer.

Another witness, Roger Del Prado, said Ingraham ran to his Versailles Gardens apartment, where Forbes and Delancy were waiting, after the shooting.

Nineteen fired cartridges were found at the crime scene. The ballistics analysis reported that all the fired cartridges came from two .40-caliber pistols, a Glock and a Springfield Arms, both of which were found in the toilet tank of the Dania Beach motel room where police arrested Delancy and Forbes.

When Ingraham, a convicted felon, was arrested outside the motel for carrying a gun, he told officers that the two who shot the deputies were inside.

Ingraham's attorney, Daniel Aaronson, did not return calls for comment Tuesday. Forbes' attorney, Melodee Smith, said she was still reviewing the motion.

No date has been set for the hearing.

Two guns usually means two shooters. One deputy was killed and another was injured. This one is pretty obvious. Send them back to the Bahamas where they came from as they are illegal.