Wendy's massacre

Infobox civilian attack
title = Wendy's massacre


caption =
location = Flushing, New York, US
coordinates =
target = Wendy's outlet
date = 2000-05-24
time = 11 PM
timezone = Eastern Daylight Time
type = robbery and homicide
fatalities = 5
injuries = 2
perps = Craig Godineaux, John Taylor
susperps =
weapons = Bryco-Jennings Model J38 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistolThe Wendy's Massacre was a brutal killing that took place in a Wendy's fast-food restaurant at 40-12 Main Street in Flushing, Queens, New York, on May 24, 2000.

Robbery and execution of employees

The killings were carried out by 36-year-old John Taylor, a former employee of the restaurant, and his accomplice Craig Godineaux. The robbery was carefully planned, as Taylor had the manager of the restaurant (who he knew) summon the entire staff to the basement on the pretense of having a meeting. Once in the basement, Taylor and Godineaux bound and gagged all seven employees at gunpoint and shot each of them in the head at point-blank range with a Bryco-Jennings Model J38 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. All but two of the employees died. One of the survivors dialed 9-1-1, and police arrived to find the victims and discovered $2,400 missing from the safe.

Arrests and trial

The NYPD arrested Taylor and Godineaux less than 48 hours after the killings. Evidence quickly mounted against the pair, including eyewitness testimony, ballistics, and fingerprints. On January 22, 2001, Godineaux pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to life in prison. On November 19, 2002, Taylor was convicted on 20 counts of murder and attempted murder. One week later, on November 26, the jury sentenced Taylor to death. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=940CE2D61738F934A15752C1A9649C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fC%2fCapital%20Punishment| title=Jury Sentences Wendy's Killer To Be Executed|publisher=New York Times]

Post-conviction

On October 23, 2007, the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, New York's highest court, vacated the death penalty portion of the verdict. [cite web|title=Court of Appeals re: John Talyor|url=http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/decisions/oct07/123opn07.pdf]

The Queens prosecutor's office fought unsuccessfully to have Taylor's case declared an exception to a 2004 Appeals Court's decision that found New York's death penalty law unconstitutional because of a flaw in its mandated instructions to the jury. On November 29, 2007 Taylor was re-sentenced to life without parole for the five murders. [cite web|title=Last NY Death Row Inmate Gets Life Term|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCn-O1iH5lBCNtcFFuPc-nPjq4QwD8T7N51G0| publisher=Associated Press] As of 2007, he had been the only inmate on Death Row in New York.

Victims

Killed in the massacre were:
*Jean Auguste, 27
*Ali Ibadat, 40
*Jeremy Mele, 19
*Ramon Nazario, 44
*Anita Smith, 23Seriously wounded:
* Ja Quione Johnson, 18
* Patricio (Patrick) Castro, 23

References

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Notes