Marguerite Allen thanks "all the people who worked so tirelessly throughout the past 14 months to bring about justice for Jimmy."

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 29, 2006

BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- "I miss Jimmy every day. His face, his laugh, his love."

Marguerite Allen, widow of Providence police Detective Sgt. James L. Allen, yesterday issued a personal public statement in the wake of the conviction of Esteban Carpio in her husband's murder in April 2005.

Margie Allen, as her friends know her, has made a few public appearances but has shunned news interviews since her husband's shocking death in the detective bureau at police headquarters.

"I miss Jimmy every day . . . ," she said in a statement released through the Police Department. "He was a loving husband and a great father. May he now rest in peace."

The Allens lived in Johnston with their two teenage daughters.

Allen devoted most of her statement to thanking "all the people who worked so tirelessly throughout the past 14 months to bring about justice for Jimmy" and who consoled her.

They include Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and his staff, especially Assistant Attorney General Paul F. Daly Jr., who prosecuted Carpio and whom Allen said "poured his heart and soul" into the case, and Ana Giron, director of Lynch's victim services unit; Detective Robert Washburn, the lead investigator; Police Chief Dean M. Esserman; Deputy Chief Paul J. Kennedy; Maj. Stephen Campbell; Sgt. Tabatha Glavin; and Mayor David N. Cicilline.

Allen described Glavin as "my fortress from the beginning" who "provided a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen, any day at any time." Allen sat through the entire Carpio trial and some preliminary proceedings, usually escorted by Glavin, who warded off inquisitive news reporters.

A Superior Court jury on Tuesday rejected Carpio's claim that he was insane and should not be held legally responsible.

Carpio was convicted of first-degree murder; discharging a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, resulting in the death of a law enforcement officer; and assault with a dangerous weapon on an elderly Providence woman.

A sentencing date has not been set, but state law provides the maximum possible punishment for the crimes of which Carpio was convicted: life imprisonment without parole.

Soon after the verdict, Esserman went to a police cruiser parked outside the courthouse and made an unusual radio broadcast announcing the verdict to the department and thanking all officers for their work.

The police airwaves usually are restricted to the discussion of emergencies, incidents or calls for service. As for their use for an administrative announcement, Campbell said yesterday, "It's done very rarely."

The department's devotion to her and to the case against Carpio, Allen said, "brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes."

"I am indebted to the men and women of the jury who recognized the truth and acted on it . . .," she added.

"To my family and friends, who have supported me and suffered with me since last April, I could not have done it without you. But most of all, I am thankful to God, whose presence and protection I have never doubted."

Lloyd Allen, James Allen's father and a retired Providence police captain, told reporters after the verdict that living with the case has been an emotional experience.

"I'm glad everything's over with," he said.

Two of the detectives who worked the case also have answered questions.

Detective Timothy C. McGann, who frantically tried to help Allen as the officer was murdered behind a locked door in a conference room and who then participated in making the case against Carpio, said, "Justice is served."

"It's sad," said Detective John E. Finegan, who was with Allen shortly before he was killed and who recorded an interview with Carpio in the hospital. "It just didn't have to happen."

There was an extended hush in the courtroom at the Licht Judicial Complex after the three verdicts were read. Many of those in the standing-room-only crowd were Providence police officers.

Carpio briefly escaped from police headquarters after he killed Allen, but was captured nearby and treated for injuries suffered in his escape and apprehension. Finegan took his first statement and the contents became a point of contention in the trial.

Some members of the department were deeply disturbed by the death of their colleague -- there were feelings of guilt and helplessness -- and the fact that it occurred in their headquarters.

"For a lot of guys," Finegan said Tuesday, "I think it's the beginning of closure."

With a report from staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick.

gsmith@projo.com / (401) 277-7334