BRONX WOMAN CONVICTED OF HINDERING THE PROSECUTION OF AN ALLEGED COP KILLER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that 29 year old Claritza Fernandez has been convicted of hindering the prosecution of an alleged suspect in the fatal Easter Sunday morning stabbing of New York City Police Detective Jaime Betancourt.

Fernandez, of Bayonne, New Jersey pled guilty to two counts of Hindering Prosecution in the 1st degree. The crime is a Class "D" Felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment, however, Acting State Supreme Court Justice William Mogulescu indicated that he would impose a term ranging from one to three years imprisonment. Sentencing has been set for Wednesday, September 11, 2002 in Part M30.

Fernandez admitted that she knowingly made false statements to authorities that she transported Alberto Gomez Gonzalez, a suspect in the stabbing death of a police officer, to a motel in Allentown, Pennsylvania, when she actually drove the suspect to a motel in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Fernandez admitted that she had misled authorities in an attempt to aid Gonzalez in avoiding arrest and prosecution.

Gonzalez has been charged with three counts of murder for allegedly stabbing off duty detective Jaime Betancourt in the chest on Sunday, March 31, 2002. Betancourt was killed while intervening in a dispute between his girlfriend and Gonzalez, the girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend and father of her child.

Chief Trial Counsel Daniel McCarthy and Assistant District Attorney Veronica Seoane are prosecuting both cases.