Yesterday, a Manhattan judge sentenced 21 year old Rudy Fleming to life in prison without parole for his "unconscionable" actions in the murder of Nicole duFrense in January 2005. During an late night/early morning with, duFresne, fiance Jeffrey Sparks and friends and Fleming and his friends who were on a mugging spree, ran into each other. Fleming had taken duFresne's purse and pistol whipped Sparks, angering duFresne who said, "What are you going to do, shoot us?" One of Fleming's friends said that Fleming shot duFresne because he "was so mad" after she challenged him.
Fleming was found guilty of murder in October. At yesterday's sentencing, Sparks appeared, wearing the shirt he was wearing that January 2005 night, one with blood on the collar, in an attempt to "look as much as I did that night." However, Fleming was not in court - he was watching by camera, as he did during the trial. Sparks gave a victim-impact statement. From the Post:
"Rudy Fleming, I wish you'd come out here," Sparks began, pausing hopefully.
"It took me a long time to find a best friend like Nicole duFresne," he continued. "And, um, we were happy.
"And" - he paused again - "you took a gun, and you pointed it right at her, and you just took her away."
"I hope that you go away for the rest of your life," he added. "I hope that you spend the rest of your life thinking about her every day. If you do, you and I will have that in common. We'll be on the same page about that."
The NY Times reports an interesting exchange about race that Sparks and Fleming's attorney had at one point. Sparks said that "he had found it difficult to look at young black men on the street without wondering 'which one of them’s packing, which one of them’s got the gun,'" and blamed Fleming, though "he would try to change his thinking because he did not want to 'live a life of prejudice and paranoia.'":
His remarks drew a gentle rebuke from the defense lawyer, Anthony Ricco. The comment “about black men and guns is nonsense,” Mr. Ricco said, as he spoke on behalf of Mr. Fleming. Referring to the shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day by the police in Queens two weeks ago, Mr. Ricco said, “That’s the kind of nonsense that resulted in that shooting that happened in Queens.”
As Mr. Sparks nodded, Mr. Ricco continued, “You’re going to honor her always, but be man enough to do it in the right way.”
Trials are pending for the others involved in the night's crime spree.
