Judge convicts robbery accomplice of 2nd-degree murder

A JUDGE yesterday convicted a robbery accomplice of second-degree murder and related offenses in the shooting death of a man outside a North Philly bodega even though the defendant didn't fire the fatal shots.

Common Pleas Judge Glenn Bronson announced his verdicts in the case of Edward Friedland, 29, after a nonjury trial.

It was Friedland's robbery accomplice, Angel Nieves, who shot and killed Rafael Del Valle, 26, outside the La Familia Latina Mini Market, at 5th Street and Glenwood Avenue, on the night of March 18, 2012.

Nieves, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of an instrument of crime. As part of a deal negotiated between Assistant District Attorney Thomas Lipscomb and Nieves' attorney, Jack McMahon, Nieves was sentenced to 25 to 60 years in state prison.

Friedland on Tuesday rejected an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 25 to 50 years behind bars, Lipscomb said yesterday.

His second-degree-murder conviction carried a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.

Before Bronson sentenced him to the mandatory term yesterday, Friedland apologized to Del Valle's older sister, Yessenia Colon, who was in the courtroom.

What happened on the night of March 18, 2012, was chaotic and involved multiple shooters.

Friedland himself got shot at least twice - one bullet tore through a tattoo in his right arm and ended up knocking a tooth out. Another hit him in the leg.

In a statement he gave while he was in a hospital, read during the trial by Homicide Detective Brian Peters, Friedland admitted going into the La Familia store armed with a .40-caliber pistol.

He said he intended to rob a store owner - Antonio Monegro - of his gun. He wanted to use the gun to rob a drug dealer.

Evidence in the trial showed that on the night of the shooting, Nieves was in and out of the store, starting at 8:18 p.m. He and Friedland were talking on their cellphones.

At 8:26 p.m., Friedland entered the store, wearing a mask and brandishing a pistol. Nieves was in the store at the time.

Friedland bumped into Monegro, who had his gun in his waistband, and the two then got into a struggle. Monegro fired off shots, but it's not clear if this is when Friedland was shot. Friedland shot Monegro in the abdomen.

During the struggle, Friedland dropped his gun on the floor, then fled north on 5th Street.

Del Valle, a friend of Monegro's, grabbed Monegro's .45-caliber gun and chased after Friedland.

Nieves grabbed Friedland's gun, which had dropped on the floor, and chased after Del Valle.

During the chase, Del Valle shot at Friedland.

But Nieves also shot Del Valle, who collapsed on 5th Street near Sedgley Avenue, about a block north of the store.

Lipscomb, in his closing argument yesterday, said that both Nieves and Friedland were "partners" and thus, responsible for one another's actions.

For second-degree murder - a killing committed during the course of another felony; in this case, robbery - it is not necessary to prove that Friedland or Nieves anticipated that anyone would be killed during the robbery, Lipscomb said.

The judge agreed. He also convicted Friedland of conspiracy to commit a robbery and of aggravated assault and weapon offenses for Monegro's injuries.

The judge acquitted Friedland of an attempted-murder charge on Monegro.

Friedland's attorney, David Rudenstein, argued in his closing that his client should not be found guilty of Del Valle's death, contending there was no conspiracy between Friedland and Nieves.

After the sentencing, Rudenstein said he would appeal.

Colon, who cried in court when Friedland apologized to her, told reporters afterward: "He showed more remorse than Angel did. Angel didn't even say sorry."

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