The 33-year-old Army veteran accused of fatally shooting four people at a Long Island pharmacy in an attempt to steal thousands of prescription drugs has pleaded guilty this morning. David Laffer pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder in the killings (one of the counts is for multiple murders) and Newsday reports, "Laffer's attorney said his client wanted to bring closure to the families of the victims. Laffer also pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal use of a weapon."
Laffer's victims were Haven Drugs worker Jennifer Mejia, 17; pharmacist Raymond Ferguson, 45; and customers Bryon Sheffield, 71, and Jamie Taccetta, 33. Suffolk County prosecutors painted a horrifying timeline: Laffer allegedly "simply shot [Ferguson] after engaging the pharmacist in conversation" and then went to steal the hydrocodone. Then, after spotting Mejia, ADA John Collins says Laffer shot her twice. Taccetta's fiance, who had been waiting outside in a car, was the one who discovered the carnage. Laffer will face life without parole at his sentencing.
Laffer said his and his wife's addictions drove him to plan the robbery, which turned tragically violent. Wife Melinda Brady has claimed they only planned a robbery and is also expected to plead guilty to those charges.
Taccetta's uncle told Newsday, "There is no need for the expense and turmoil of a trial," while Sheffield's family issued a statement, "Assuming that Laffer remains subject to the maximum sentence for his crimes, our family does not take issue with the judge accepting the guilty plea. Our family is dealing with a loss, the magnitude of which words cannot possibly convey, and no legal proceedings will alter this stark reality for us. We would be relieved not to have our lives further disrupted by a trial, with the details of this senseless tragedy painfully replayed over an extended period of time."
