An NYC detective shot while serving a search warrant at a suspected drug house is upset after the suspect took a plea deal to reduce his sentence by claiming he mistook the officers for robbers, according to union officials.
Narcotics Det. Dominick Libretti was shot while using his ballistic shield to protect his team during a raid on Jan. 20, 2022, in New Springville on Staten Island.
Nelson Pizarro, 41, fired at the officers through a door, stating that he believed he was being robbed.
Nelson, who faced multiple charges including attempted murder of a police officer, assault on a police officer, and criminal possession of a weapon, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree attempted murder and a 16-year prison sentence in State Supreme Court on Monday.
The sentence was deemed inadequate by Libretti, who stated, “considering I almost died,” as reported by the union.
Nelson could have received a minimum of 40 years in prison for attempting to kill the five officers in the hallway, according to a union official.
Libretti informed the Detectives Endowment Association that the police team had made their presence known multiple times.
“We entered the location screaming ‘Police search warrant!’ after the door was rammed in and continued screaming ‘Police search warrant!’,” Libretti said, as reported by a union official.
Libretti maintained that Nelson locked a bedroom door in his face upon seeing him, then proceeded to shoot multiple rounds.
“Once Nelson saw me, he slammed the door and began to shoot, hitting me in the chest [and] shoulder area,” Libretti told the union official.
“When I returned fire, I was struck in the leg.”
