STATEN ISLAND, NY – A Staten Island man is heading to prison for 25 years to life after being convicted and sentenced for killing an off-duty firefighter after a fender bender on the Belt Parkway.
According to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Joseph Desmond, 33, has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison following his murder conviction for assaulting and causing the death of an off-duty firefighter on the Belt Parkway.
The victim suffered multiple skull fractures and hemorrhaging from a fatal blow to the head.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant’s vicious response to a minor fender bender robbed a close family of a loved one and a firefighter community of a brave and treasured brother. Our hearts continue to be with the Mr. Coto’s relatives, friends and coworkers as they grieve this unspeakable loss, and I hope today’s sentence helps bring some sense of solace knowing that this defendant has been held accountable.”
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, in the early morning hours of December 9, 2018, the defendant and the victim, Faizal Coto, 33, were both traveling east on the Belt Parkway when they had a minor collision. Both drivers pulled over to the side of the road near Exit 4 at the Bay 8th Street. The defendant immediately got out of his car, walked to the victim’s car, viciously struck him in the head with a blunt object, returned to his car, and drove away. The entire interaction took less than 15 seconds.
“The victim, who suffered profound skull fractures, collapsed to the ground next to his car. A passerby traveling west-bound saw him and called 911. The victim, who was an off-duty firefighter assigned to Engine 245 in Brooklyn, was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Coney Island Hospital,” court records show. “The defendant was arrested the following day after license plate readers picked up the plate number of his 2006 Infiniti G35 on the Belt Parkway near the victim’s car at the same approximate time and in the vicinity of the incident. Police tracked down the defendant to a motel in South Amboy, New Jersey.”