GUILTY FL - Officer Charles Kondek, 45, fatally shot, Tarpon Springs, 21 Dec 2014

[KateB]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/r...-tarpon-springs-police-officer-charles-kondek

Officers from all over the state joined together to pay their respects to Officer Kondek. There was a 21 gun salute outside the church following the service, which lasted about an hour and a half. Afterward, the procession traveled from the church in Lutz to Tarpon Springs in Pinellas County, where there was to be a private graveside memorial service for the family.

videos & more at link.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...ondeks-family-charlie-loved-christmas/2211620

After the church service, the officers gathered outside for the final moments of Saturday's ceremony.
The 21-gun salute. The bugler playing Taps. Four helicopters flew an aerial salute overhead. One veered off in "missing man" formation.
It ended with a dispatcher broadcasting the "final call" for Charles Kondek's call sign over police radios — "285" — which will now be retired.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

December 2015:

Friends, family remember fallen Tarpon Springs officer Kondek

http://www.tbo.com/news/crime/memorial-tonight-for-fallen-tarpon-springs-officer-kondek-20151221/

On Monday evening, Aleena, 16, and a handful of others spoke about her dad to a tearful crowd of about 500 people who gathered in the street for a memorial service marking the first anniversary of the fallen officer’s death.

Kondek was shot and killed near an apartment complex while responding to a to a noise complaint around 2 a.m., Dec. 21, 2014. He was 45.

Marco Antonio Parilla Jr., 23, was arrested a short time later. He awaits trial for first-degree murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Kondek’s widow, Teresa, and their six children sat in the front row for the hour-long wreath presentation and candlelight vigil outside of the Tarpon Springs police station where the officer’s name has been posted above the entrance door and a monument was placed in his honor in the Public Safety Memorial Garden.

Teresa placed a red rose on the stone monument, and officers placed a floral wreath in the form of badge, bearing Kondek’s No. 285 and wrapped with a black band across the middle, on a stand before the monument.

Tarpon Springs officers step in for fallen colleague's daughter on prom night - May 2016

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Killer of Tarpon Springs police officer pleads guilty

http://www.tbo.com/news/courts/criminal/killer-of-tarpon-springs-police-officer-pleads-guilty/2340928

Kondek's wife, family, and dozens of police officers watched as Parilla, 26, walked up to the lectern with his two defense attorneys. After Pinellas Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone accepted his plea, Parilla unfolded a one-page letter he wrote to Kondek's family.

"I'm writing this apology to ask you for your forgiveness. I didn't want to take the life of no one, let alone a hero," Parilla read. "I am not a monster and I'm sorry for causing pain to the community."

Parilla's guilty plea means there won't be a trial. During his sentencing, a jury will decide if he should spend his life in prison or be condemned to death row. Under a new Florida law passed this year, juries in death penalty cases must be unanimous.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.tbo.com/news/courts/criminal/Cop-killer-s-mother-tells-jury-My-son-is-not-an-animal-_166434597

Parilla pleaded guilty Oct. 12 to first-degree murder. Now a jury must decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.

Prosecutors spent two days convincing the jury that Parilla should be put to death for his crime. The state rested Friday. Now it’s the defense’s turn to convince the jury to spare his life.

"My son is not an animal. He came out of my womb," Melendez said through tears on the stand. "I love him very much."

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Expert: Cop-killer has high risk of CTE, the brain disease afflicting football players

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/Expert-Cop-killer-has-high-risk-of-CTE-the-brain-disease-afflicting-football-players_166532525

Wu, a neuropsychiatrist who specializes in brain imaging, has testified in criminal cases across the country. On Tuesday, he took the stand to bolster the defense’s argument that Parilla should be spared the death penalty because he suffered head trauma that impaired his judgment.

At the age of 8, a large rock fell on Parilla’s head, rendering him unconscious.

"It was a very significant brain injury," Wu said. "A child’s brain is very delicate. It is growing and it is much more susceptible to the physical trauma of being struck in the head than an adult head is."

That injury may have caused an increased risk of CTE, he explained, since studies have shown that football players who started playing the sport before the age of 12 have a higher chance of developing the disease.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Cop killer on the stand: ‘I’m ashamed of what I’ve done’

http://www.tbo.com/news/Cop-killer-on-the-stand-I-m-ashamed-of-what-I-ve-done-_166633814

For five days, Marco Antonio Parilla, Jr. has slouched next to his defense attorneys, his head bowed and his hands folded in front of him as police officers, doctors, medical examiners, his mother and other family members took the stand.

On Thursday, the defense called on their last witness.

Parilla rose from a chair and approached the front of the courtroom as bailiffs closely followed.

Defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand asked his client why he has been so reserved. His voice breaking, Parilla said: "I’m ashamed of what I’ve done."

 

[indigomood]

Jury sentences Parilla to life in prison, 10-2. Judge is questioning jury now.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts...pon-Springs-cop-gets-life-in-prison_166661724

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/-Death-for-cop-killer-is-a-mistake-He-gets-life-in-prison-_166661724

Teresa Kondek approached the lectern first, reading from a letter she wrote to the man who killed her husband.

"I wanted the death penalty for you," she said. "But either way, your time in hell is coming. Until then, you are just a burden for taxpayers."

She recalled seeing the police lights flashing in front of her home the morning of Dec. 21, 2014. She called her husband, who worked the midnight shift, but he didn’t answer. Then she learned the news.

"You’re the reason we’re all here today," the wife said. "You have no idea what you took from me. .?.?. You killed a man who wrote letters to me, made me laugh, and planned date nights."