In his second court appearance since the slaying of Detective Sgt. James L. Allen, accused killer Esteban Carpio faces new charges of assaulting ACI guards.

08:51 AM EDT on Tuesday, May 3, 2005

BY AMANDA MILKOVITS
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Under tight security in a tense courtroom, the man accused of killing a Providence police detective went before a District Court judge yesterday on charges of assaulting three correctional officers.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

Sheriffs escort into District Court a shackled Esteban Carpio, who again wears a mask to prevent him from spitting at anyone.

Esteban Carpio, 26, was shackled from his hands to his ankles, with chains running across his stomach underneath his baggy jumpsuit. A white plastic mask, called a spit shield, covered his nose and mouth.

He arrived for court an hour late, after being pepper-sprayed at the Adult Correctional Institutions for allegedly being uncooperative with officers putting restraints on him.

The last time Carpio was in court was to face a charge for the murder of Detective Sgt. James L. Allen two weeks ago. His face was bruised and swollen then, and partially covered by the spit-shield mask. His family and girlfriend reacted sharply to his appearance and shouted that he had been brutalized.

This time there were no outbursts, just a strained silence as observers in the standing-room-only court leaned to hear Carpio's muffled words. The bruises and swelling on his face had subsided.

His first question: "Can I take off this mask?"

Judge Elaine Bucci told him no. "I can't let you do it," she said.

Carpio has been held without bail since his arraignment for Allen's slaying on April 17. Yesterday's hearing was postponed until May 16 because Carpio's Boston lawyers were not licensed to practice in Rhode Island. The state Supreme Court requires defendants with out-of-state counsel to also have a local attorney.

Carpio's lawyers are Robert L. Sheketoff, who was not in court yesterday, and Kirsten M. Wenge, who confirmed they would seek local counsel. Both visited him at the ACI a week after the slaying; they've been his only visitors.

Sheketoff is a high-powered criminal defense lawyer in Boston, rated in 2002 by Boston Magazine as one of the city's best.

According to news reports, Sheketoff has represented members of the Angiulo crime family and William Bennett, the Boston man falsely accused by Charles Stuart of murdering his pregnant wife in a racially charged incident in 1989. Other clients included Gary Lee Sampson, a drifter who was charged with carjacking and murdering three people, and Kevin O'Neil, a longtime associate of fugitive mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger.

Sheketoff did not return calls seeking comment. Wenge, an attorney from his office, declined comment.

With no local lawyer, nothing was decided in Carpio's case.

But the court was prepared. Bucci met last week with Executive High Sheriff Gary P. Dias and Chief District Court Judge Albert E. DeRobbio about security for Carpio's arraignment.

Carpio was driven to court separately from the other prisoners, accompanied by four deputies, Dias said.

Along with routine screening at the main entrances of the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex, everyone entering Bucci's courtroom was screened again by sheriffs using detection wands.

The atmosphere was tense. Carpio's family and friends took some of the seats, and a few wore T-shirts bearing pictures of Carpio and his toddler.

Nine current and retired Providence detectives stood in the back, wearing badges covered by black bands.

Both the police and Carpio's family were within feet, even inches, of each other. Neither side acknowledged the other.

The judge addressed both groups. "If there is an outburst, like there was last time, I will hold you in contempt, which means you will go to the ACI," Bucci said with emphasis.

"I know it's emotional for many people, on both sides," she added. "This is a courtroom, and I expect you to act appropriately."

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

Samein Phin, the girlfriend of accused killer Esteban Carpio, leaves District Court, Providence, yesterday carrying a T-shirt bearing an image of Carpio with thier child. Carpio was arraigned on new assault charges involving correctional officers.

Several sheriffs, including High Sheriff Dias, took posts around the room. Two sheriffs gripped Carpio under his arms.

The state police are charging him with assault and battery, assault with bodily fluids, and assault on a correctional officer. Carpio is accused of attacking two correctional officers in his cell last Tuesday after they tried to stop him from eating a blanket. After he was subdued by pepper spray, Carpio allegedly spat on another officer.

No plea was entered. The assault case goes to conference on July 1 and Superior Court arraignment on July 11.

Afterward, Providence Detectives John Murray Jr. and John Coughlin Jr. said they and the other detectives were dealing with Allen's death.

Carpio's supporters brushed by the detectives and reporters.

Outside, his girlfriend, Samein Phin, cried and covered her face with a T-shirt printed with a photo of Carpio and their child. "He's a good father," she said.

Some who said they were his friends wore baggy white T-shirts with his face and a message. One side labeled "Before" had a picture of Carpio smiling. One side labeled "After" showed Carpio's face two weeks ago: swollen and obscured by a blood-spattered spit-shield mask. They said they wore the shirts to protest "police brutality."

Chief Dean M. Esserman has said Carpio was arrested after jumping out a three-story window and fighting violently with law enforcement officers. The FBI is leading an investigation into whether the officers used excessive force.

Meanwhile, the ACI is photographing Carpio whenever he's moved, said A.T. Wall, director of the Department of Corrections. The intent is to keep a record and protect against false accusations of brutality, he said.

Carpio is seen daily by one of the ACI's mental health clinicians, Wall said. A video camera is trained on Carpio's cell 24 hours a day, and correctional officers continuously monitor him through a window, Wall said.

"Given the difficulties he's presented in management and his assaultive behavior, we deemed it prudent to place a video camera on the cell," Wall said.

The three officers assaulted last Tuesday remain out of work. Mark G. Garcia suffered a broken jaw and possibly fractured vertebrae in his neck, James C. Stringfellow had a hyperextended thumb, and officer Robert Machado had been spat on, according to court records.

Yesterday, corrections officers used pepper spray on Carpio after he refused to move away from the door and allow the officers to shackle and photograph him, Wall said. He was quickly subdued and shackled.

With reports from staff writer Michael Corkery.