CONVICTED MURDERER SERVING LIFE SENTENCE FOR KILLING A POLICE OFFICER, FOUND GUILTY IN THE SHOOTING DEATH OF A BRONX MAN IN A 1987 PUSH-IN BURGLARY

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that Jose Fernandez, 53, has been found guilty of Murder in the 2^nd degree in the death of Jose Gomez who was 43 years old when he was fatally shot in the Fall of 1987.

State Supreme Court Justice Harold Silverman set sentencing for Monday, May 10, 2004 in Part T18. Fernandez, who is facing a maximum sentence of up to 25 years to life imprisonment, already is serving a life sentence for the murder of a New York City Police Officer. Fernandez was convicted of Murder in the 2^nd degree in August 2003 in the death of Police Officer Michael Buczek in October 1988 in Manhattan. Following that murder, Fernandez fled to the Dominican Republic where he remained until a joint extradition proceeding in 2002 by the Bronx and Manhattan District Attorneys.

In the Bronx case, Fernandez was convicted of murder during the commission of a felony offense in which he and two other men pushed their way into the victim’s home while impersonating police officers. The murder occurred on September 14, 1987 in an apartment on Creston Avenue in the Fordham section of the Bronx. Fernandez and his accomplices, acting under the mistaken belief that the victim was a drug dealer, stormed into the apartment and demanded that he give them cash and narcotics. After ransacking the apartment, the victim, his young son and four other people were herded into the bathroom. Frustrated over having to leave empty handed, Fernandez fired shots into the bathroom, one of which struck Gomez in the head killing him instantly.

Alfredo Medina, 63, was convicted of Murder in the 2^nd degree in 1989 for his role in Gomez’ death and is currently serving a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment. A third suspect in the murder remains at large.

The case is being prosecuted by Chief Trial Counsel and Director of Trial Training, Assistant District Attorney Daniel McCarthy, and Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Lindblom.