Sopranos actor shot in NYPD killing

[PDittie]

To be clear, the tragedy here is the death of NYPD officer Daniel Enchautegui:

A police officer trying to stop a burglary in a neighbor's home was fatally wounded in a gun battle in the Bronx early yesterday, but continued to return fire and wounded two suspects who were captured by arriving officers as they stumbled away bleeding, the police said.

...

The suspects - Steven Armento, 48, a burglar with three convictions and a history of violence, and Lillo Brancato Jr., 29, an actor who has appeared in "The Sopranos" and in "A Bronx Tale" with Robert De Niro and a dozen later films - were felled by multiple wounds, in a gunfight that shattered the peace of a residential street before dawn.

...

Mr. Brancato, in a moderately successful acting career, got his break in "A Bronx Tale," Mr. De Niro's 1993 coming-of-age film about a teenager torn between role models - his father (Mr. De Niro) and a local mobster (Chazz Palminteri) - in an Italian neighborhood. ... He also played an aspiring mobster, Matt Bevilacqua, in the 1999-2000 season of "The Sopranos," a recurring role that ended with a memorable departure: his execution by the fictional mob boss, Tony Soprano. He also appeared in the short-lived mob show "Falcone" and was a guest star in a 2002 episode of "NYPD Blue."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/nyregion/11cop.html?hp&ex=1134363600&en=49df62e0401b7633&ei=5094&partner=homepage

A photo:



Apparently the guy was a small-time hoodlum in real life, as he had been arrested not long ago with four envelopes of heroin, and just last week police responded to a domestic disturbance at his house and he was found with crack in his pocket.

[Endangered Specie]

1. If its all the same to you, I hope they get a REAL execution.

damn shame about the policeofficer :(

[SoCalDem]

2. No excuses.. This is horrible.

The guy got a chance at a real career, and he would not cut his ties to petty thugs & criminals.. What a LOSER!!

[0007]

5. Amen!

[Algorem]

3. some kind of backwards method acting?

[Nevernose]

4. Sounds like an addict trying to get money

If what the OP said was true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't it: "Apparently the guy was a small-time hoodlum in real life, as he had been arrested not long ago with four envelopes of heroin, and just last week police responded to a domestic disturbance at his house and he was found with crack in his pocket."

Thanks to drugs (not pot, but real drugs), there's more people in the world grieving today than there were yesterday.

[PDittie]

7. It's from the link (page 3). Here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/nyregion/11cop.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5094&en=49df62e0401b7633&hp&ex=1134363600&partner=homepage

[Nevernose]

10. I believed you, but was foscusing on the "addict" part

Although I admittedly know only a tiny, tiny portion of the truth or what really went on there, it looks to me as if this were just another case of a drug addictr trying to get enough money to score.

This isn't a story about a former actor and a wannabe Soprano. This is the story of a street junkie, the lengths he would go to to get drug money, the lengths he would go to not go to prison, and the innocent people who get killed trying to do the right thing. It's just plain sad, all around.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. I agree

This guy wasn't just a "Sopranos" actor. He was in quite a few well-known films after A Bronx Tale. Sounds like he was a heroin addict, and it got taken too far this time. He was out with this long-rap-sheeted jackass who didn't want to go in again on a burglary rap and decided to take his chances with guns blazing. A damn shame for the young cop, that's for sure.

I think you're right though. The actor sounds like a drug addict who has now officially hit rock bottom. And there's no going up. Supposing he survives his wounds, he'll never see the light of day again. Done. You don't kill cops in NYC. Period.

[pinniped]

6. That young punk Soprano kid was also arrested in the past for armed...

robbery.

He thought he wsa a real wise guy.

[AndreaCG]

11. And one of the adults was arrested

for beating up his girlfriend IIRC.

[qanda]

8. Terrible story

Sounds like he was a wonderful officer. RIP Officer Enchautegui

[keopeli]

9. If it's all the same to you, I won't rush to judgement.

The impulsive emotional reactions that American media promotes is detrimental to a healthy justice system. I reserve the right to both abhor and pity Mr. Brancato.

While appearances imply that Mr. Brancato was at least a participant in this burglary gone bad, I choose to temper my reaction with a presumption of innocence and a fairly prosecuted trail. If he's found guilty by a unanimous jury of his peers, then so be it.

The fact that this crime produced a fatality, a peace officer no less, makes me take extra caution.

All that being said, the incident is an intriguing one, and the justice system will hopefully prevail.

And my sincere condolences to the family of Daniel Enchautegui, who was a tragically young 28 years old when he died trying to protect the city.