An attorney for the Coram man accused of shooting a Suffolk County police officer on May 11 said his client had no intent to kill as the defendant was charged Thursday with a 13-count grand jury.
Janell Funderburke, 20, pleaded not guilty to attempted aggravated murder of a police officer, first-degree robbery and additional gun and drug charges, including one for a small amount of fentanyl found in the home his while police searched for the weapon used in the shooting. .
“It was a warning,” defense attorney Christopher Cassar of Huntington said of the two shots his client fired at Officer Michael LaFauci, including one that pierced his upper right thigh, leaving him hospitalized for one week. “I was trying to get away, but not kill.”
Cassar said his client, who he described as bipolar and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, repeatedly told investigators he did not intend to kill the officer and that body camera footage will show that.
Louis Civello, second vice president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, called Cassar’s claim “ridiculous.”
“You don’t shoot somebody and think, ‘I’m not going to kill them,'” Civello said.
LaFauci, 27, a six-year member of the department, was working as a plainclothes officer with an anti-gang detail on Norfleet Lane in Coram, officials said. LaFauci identified himself as a police officer as he approached a fleeing Funderburke, who fired a couple of shots at him from a 9 mm handgun that investigators later recovered from his home, prosecutors said.
Funderburke successfully evaded police after the shooting and waited at his home, changing clothes, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney James Slattery said. He left the house to surrender 45 minutes after police arrived. He admitted to the shooting during an interview with detectives, Slattery said.
“He said he shot the cop because the officer was catching up to him,” Slattery told Acting Superior Court Judge Anthony Senft, who ordered Funderburke returned to the county jail.
Police had been investigating Funderburke for an armed robbery of two women who tried to buy marijuana from him on May 8. He pulled a gun on the women and took $160 in cash, Slattery said.
After shooting LaFauci, officers applied two tourniquets to the officer’s wounds to stop the bleeding and took him to Stony Brook University Hospital in a police vehicle, Harrison said.
LaFauci, the father of a 17-month-old daughter, was released from Stony Brook University Hospital last week.
The hollow-point bullet, which expands on impact and is designed to inflict significant tissue and bone damage, passed through LaFauci’s right thigh, passed through his pelvis into his left buttock, but did not cause significant damage to arteries and organs, Dr. James said. Vosswinkel, Stony Brook’s chief of trauma surgery and Suffolk police chief medical officer, said on his way out of the hospital last week. LaFauci’s right leg remains partially paralyzed, the surgeon said.
“He has a long road to recovery,” Civello said.
Funderburke, who prosecutors called “an admitted Bloods gang member,” also has pending drug and weapons charges from last April and August, as well as two juvenile convictions on similar charges.
Civello said the fact that the shooting happened while Funderburke had charges pending is “indicative of a broken justice system.”
Cassar said his client denies any gang affiliation. He said his client was raised by a single mother, with two brothers and a father in prison. Eight Funderburke supporters filled a row of the courtroom Thursday, surrounded by dozens of police officers.
“This case is a stark reminder of the grave dangers our police officers face on a daily basis,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who attended the arraignment, said in a statement. “While I am thankful that Police Officer Lafauci is finally home recovering from his injuries, my office is committed to ensuring that the person responsible for this brazen and senseless act is held accountable.”
Funderburke faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the attempted murder charge. In total, he is charged with 12 crimes, including eight violent crimes, plus one misdemeanor. He will be back in court on June 12.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County and federal courts for Newsday. A native of Long Island, he joined Newsday in 2022.
