Trial begins in 2004 Harrisburg shooting death
The Patriot-News
August 10, 2009
By Daniel Victor
Of The Patriot-News
The defense attorney for a man accused of a 2004 homicide claims Harrisburg City Police failed to adequately investigate the shooting death of 33-year-old John Bruno.
But First Assistant District Attorney Fran Chardo said in his opening statement Monday that the accused, Negii Coffee, 39, was an admitted drug dealer who had been convicted on gun charges. Chardo said the shooting, inside the New York Fried Chicken in the 1400 block of Market Street in Harrisburg, happened after a drug deal went wrong at 2:40 a.m. Sept. 4, 2004.
*Coffee’s attorney, Justin McShane, said detectives pegged Coffee based on two unreliable accounts. He said leads that pointed to another suspect weren’t followed up.*
*”The commonwealth’s contention that there is an undeniable link … is at best an overstatement,” McShane said in his opening statement.*
A police officer testified Monday that Bruno was found dead just inside the restaurant.
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