[NYPD] Putting Officer Din in prison for trying to have his girlfriend killed was a job well-done

I have a lot a lot of saved cases that aren't on the blog for a variety of life reasons, but I ran across this one while looking up something else and am putting it here now - although NYPD Officer Kabeer Din was sentenced 2 years ago. I am impressed that it went exactly as any average citizen would hope it would. Everyone did their job well. The NYPD Internal Affairs Division took the complaint seriously, immediately set up to get the evidence needed, and the prosecutor was uneffected by the victim's recant or plea for mercy in behalf of her would-be killer.

...The case took an unexpected turn in December when the intended victim, shifted her support to the defendant. She even wrote a letter to Suffolk County Court James Hudson "begging" for Mercy for Din... and said despite a court-imposed order of protection she continues to visit him and is working to have him vindicated. "Because I love him... We're still boyfriend and girlfriend"... I wasn't afraid of him... I know his character, and that's not him"... [S.N.] made a tearful appeal to [Suffolk County Court Judge James] Hudson, asking for mercy for Din. "He didn’t do it, I know he didn’t... I’ll still be waiting for him after"... Before being sentenced, Din broke down in sobs as he addressed the judge. "I am sorry for what I did, it was wrong. I made a mistake"...

NEW YORK POLICE RECRUIT ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO KILL EX-GIRLFRIEND
Newsday, NY
July 31, 2006
[Excerpts] A New York City police recruit was arrested Monday afternoon in Suffolk County for plotting to have his ex-girlfriend killed for $3,000... Authorities nabbed Kabeer Din, 22, after he met with an undercover officer in Holtsville, where the two discussed a plan to murder his former girlfriend... The alleged plot stemmed from a disagreement over marital plans: Din was ready to marry but the 24-year-old woman but she didn't want to tie the knot... On Friday, Din told an unidentified source for the New York Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau that he was "looking for someone to kill his girlfriend"... The source immediately informed the bureau... On Monday morning, Din met with the internal affairs source and an undercover Suffolk County police officer at a strip mall... Din gave him a photograph of his girlfriend and $200 in cash and his credit card as down payment on the $3,000 hit... Before joining the New York Police Academy in July, Din was a police officer in Baltimore until June 2005... "He got outstanding recommendations," [New York police chief spokesman Paul] Browne said...

DA: NYPD RECRUIT MAY HAVE SHADY PAST
Newsday, NY
August 1, 2006, 1:16 PM EDT
[Excerpts] The rookie cop who thought he was hiring a hit man to kill his girlfriend because she turned down wedding plans may have had another reason to kill her, Suffolk County Prosecutor Thomas Spota hinted after his arraignment in Central Islip today. There may have been some past conduct that she was concerned about and he was afraid she would call the NYPD and blemish his squeaky-clean reputation, said Spota. Kabeer Din, 22, of Selden was also in possession of a passport and may have been trying to flee to flee the United States... The parties agreed to a meeting yesterday at 11 a.m. in a strip mall in Holtsville. Din stopped first at an ATM and withdrew only $200, Browne said. Inside the hit man's car he handed over the $200 and his credit card, which he considered a good-faith measure, Browne said. With the conversation being taped - and videotaped from a short distance away - Din offered a picture of his girlfriend and her name... When Din stepped out of the car, police arrested him...

NYPD RECRUIT ARRAIGNED IN PLOT TO KILL EX-GIRLFRIEND
WNBC, NY -
August 14, 2006
[Excerpts] A New York Police Department recruit who plotted to have his ex-girlfriend killed was being held on $250,000 cash bail or $1.5 million bond after pleading not guilty Monday to a grand jury indictment's conspiracy charge... [Din] also feared she would "report something that would be damaging to him"... A judge took Din's Pakistani passport and issued an order of protection for the woman when he was arrested... Din's attorney, Craig Purcell, said the accusations against his client were "totally out of character" and noted he had an "unblemished record" before his arrest. "He's squeaky clean"...

TRIAL BEGINS IN CASE OF COP HIRING HITMAN
Newsday, NY
March 19, 2007
[Excerpts] Opening statements are expected Monday in the trial of a New York City Police recruit charged with trying to hire a hitman to murder his fiance... Din faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted. Suffolk prosecutors have said they believe the murder-for-hire plot was spurred by [S.N.]'s desire to postpone their wedding, and by Din's fear that she would disclose some incriminating information about him to his police superiors. The case took an unexpected turn in December when the [S.N.], the intended victim, shifted her support to the defendant. She even wrote a letter to Suffolk County Court James Hudson "begging" for Mercy for Din. "I am just trying to help someone who I know is truly innocent and someone I love and care for," [S.N.] wrote. "To me it was just a stupid and irrational mistake that he did." [S.N.] has viewed a surveillance video, in which prosecutors say Din gave the would-be hit man his orders, including how he wanted the killing to look like a "street robbery." Still, [S.N.] said she doesn't believe he was serious, but rather "just needed a little bit of guidance." [S.N.] also recently signed an affidavit requesting that Hudson lift an order of protection keeping Din away from her. Din's attorney, Craig Purcell of Hauppauge, has said the order is of little use because [S.N.] has repeatedly traveled from her home in Brooklyn to spend time with Din at his appearances in Riverhead court, where the two sit together. Jeremy Scileppi, chief of major crimes for the Suffolk district attorney's office, said the effect of [S.N.]'s about-face on the case would be "absolutely none whatsoever."

ROOKIE COP TALKS ABOUT KILLING FIANCEE ON TAPE
Newsday, NY
March 20, 2007
[Excerpts] New York City police recruit Kabeer Din was wearing his uniform for the first time when he spoke unsuspectingly into a tiny digital recorder and emphatically told a fellow recruit how much he wanted his fiancee dead. "This __ __ does not deserve to live... I swear, if I could have a gun, I'd shoot this __ __ myself." Jurors heard the recording of that conversation at Din's trial Tuesday... His intended victim, girlfriend [S.N.], 24, is supporting Din, despite the charges that he planned to kill her... "I want to get rid of this __ __... She's a __ __ headache. I don't want her living anymore... I want it to play out so nobody finds out __ __ so she disappears and nobody ever finds the body... Yo, I've been planning this __ __ for a year... This __ __ is worth __ __ killing."

WOMAN DEFENDS NYPD BOYFRIEND ACCUSED OF $3000 PLOT TO KILL HER
Newsday, NY
March 28, 2007
[Excerpts] A woman who prosecutors say was targeted for death by her boyfriend testified in his defense... and said despite a court-imposed order of protection she continues to visit him and is working to have him vindicated. "Because I love him," [S.N.] said... "We're still boyfriend and girlfriend," said [S.N.]... when she heard Din's disparaging remarks she laughed. "I wasn't afraid of him," she said, nearly giggling... "I know his character, and that's not him." [S.N.]'s demeanor changed on cross-examination... She reluctantly conceded that the couple had been fighting in the days before Din's arrest... Several times [S.N.] said she didn't remember details of the statement she gave to police... "Didn't you say that he was bothering you? Didn't you say he was possessive and wanted to spend all his time with you?" "Yes," she answered meekly, appearing at times to fight back tears...

CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN LI TRIAL OF RECRUIT ACCUSED OF DEADLY PLOT
Newsday, NY
March 29, 2007
[Excerpts]...In his closing, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Scileppi noted that Din gave a written confession admitting the plot... Defense attorney Craig Purcell argued that Din was the victim of police entrapment, and he pointed to parts of Din's conversations with undercover officers that he contended showed Din...

NYPD RECRUIT CONVICTED IN $3000 PLOT TO KILL HIS GIRLFRIEND
Newsday, NY - 12 hours ago
April 2, 2007
[Excerpts] A New York Police Department recruit was convicted Monday of conspiring to hire someone to murder his girlfriend, who stood by him throughout the trial and defied a protective order to see him... During the trial, [S.N.] adamantly defended the man she continued to call her boyfriend, testifying in his defense and saying she was working to have him vindicated. Despite a court-imposed order of protection, she continued to see him, she testified. But on Monday, as the verdict was read, [S.N.] was nowhere to be seen... On cross-examination, [S.N.] conceded that the couple had been fighting, primarily over the fact that he was not permitted to accompany her to a family wedding, in the days before Din's arrest... Defense attorney Craig Purcell told the judge on Monday that Din, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, accepts responsibility for his actions and blames nobody but himself for "ruining his life"...

NYPD RECRUIT SENTENCED FOR TRYING TO KILL BROOKLYN WOMAN
Girlfriend Insists He's Innocent, Says She'll Still Wait for Him
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY
05-18-2007
[Excerpts] A former New York Police Department recruit convicted of conspiring to hire a hit man to kill his girlfriend — despite her continued protestations of his innocence — was sentenced yesterday to up to 21 years in prison... Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson in Riverhead called Din’s crime "appalling" before sentencing him to 7 to 21 years in prison. "You didn’t deceive that jury, you didn’t deceive me," said Hudson... Yesterday, [S.N.] made a tearful appeal to Hudson, asking for mercy for Din. "He didn’t do it, I know he didn’t," [S.N.] said amid sobs. "I’ll still be waiting for him after"... Before being sentenced, Din broke down in sobs as he addressed the judge. "I am sorry for what I did, it was wrong. I made a mistake," he said.
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