BRONX MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF 52-YEAR-
OLD MAN DURING A HOME INVASION ROBBERY
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 23-year-old Bronx man was found guilty of murder and robbery in the stabbing death of a 52-year-old man during a home invasion robbery in January 2005.
Jose Corrasco, of 414 East 173rd Street, was found guilty of Murder in the 2nd degree and Robbery in the 1st degree after six days of deliberations. Corrasco was 19 years old when the murder occurred and is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment. Acting State Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Foley set sentencing for Friday, December 19, 2008 in Part T2.
Leonida Brito lived on the same block as the defendant and was killed in his home on January 8, 2005. Corrasco and several unapprehended accomplices forced their way into the victim’s apartment, stabbed him to death and fled with approximately $1,000 in cash. Brito’s body was discovered two days later when relatives became concerned over not hearing from him and went to his apartment. A friend of the murdered man’s brother looked through a window and called police after seeing a body lying on a bed. Once the Fire Department entered the apartment family members identified the deceased as Leonida Brito, who had been scheduled to travel to the Dominican Republic that same day.
Corrasco was taken into custody for questioning within hours after police received an anonymous tip that Corrasco was the killer. Detectives went to the defendant’s home and after speaking with his mother and sister-in-law, recovered a pair of the defendant’s sneakers that matched bloody sneaker prints found in the dead man’s apartment. Jurors also heard testimony regarding the defendant’s confessions to civilian witnesses and his own statements to police.
Assistant District Attorneys Gary Weil and Chandra Menon of the Trial Division are prosecuting the case.
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