BRONX MAN ARRAIGNED ON MURDER INDICTMENT IN THE EASTER SUNDAY SHOOTING DEATH OF A TWO YEAR OLD TODDLER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that an indictment was unsealed in State Supreme Court this afternoon charging Nicholas Morris, 26, with murder in the death of a two year old boy last month on Easter Sunday.

Morris, who is being held without bail, was arraigned on the indictment before State Supreme Court Justice John Byrne. The grand jury charged Morris with two counts of Murder in the 2nd degree, one count of Manslaughter in the 1st degree, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd degree. The grand jury filed murder charges under two different legal theories. One theory charges Morris with ‘intentional murder’ and alleges that although he intended to kill another individual, Morris caused the death of bystander David Pacheco Jr., instead. An alternate theory alleges that Morris “acted in a manner evincing a depraved indifference to human life” when he fired a gun into a crowd of people, and thereby caused the death of David Pacheco Jr.

If convicted of murder, Morris, of 1962, University Avenue, the Bronx, would be facing a maximum sentence of up to 25 years to life imprisonment.

The murder occurred on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006 at the intersection of Harrison and East Tremont Avenues. David Pacheco was sitting in a child seat in his family’s vehicle when he was struck and killed by a bullet that the defendant allegedly fired.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Allen Karen and Assistant District Attorney Timothy DiMarco.