Police ID suspected cop killer
Sunday, April 20, 2003
By ASHANTI M. ALVAREZ
STAFF WRITER |
|
 |
 OMAR MARTI
|
Police on Saturday identified a 23-year-old Passaic man as the murder suspect who shot Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura and then ran over her with her patrol car on a church lawn Thursday night.
"Defendant Omar Marti is still at large," said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. "He is not only at large, he is on the move, and he is armed and dangerous."
"We've notified all borders, all train stations, all airports," Molinelli said.
The search Saturday was widespread, but concentrated on Broome County, N.Y., more than 100 miles from the site of the shooting. More than 50 officers were searching a dozen locations Marti might have frequented in the Broome County area the past two years, according to a law enforcement official.
"Local agencies certainly are aware of him. They know who he is," said a spokesman for the police command post in Johnson City, N.Y. "We have a list of quite a few people to interview."
Without elaborating, Molinelli said Marti was spotted at the Port Authority Bus Terminal near Times Square on Friday morning, and is believed to have headed north or west. Pennsylvania is also considered a possible hiding spot.
As police continued the search for Marti, who is also accused of shooting Clifton Officer Steven Farrell on Thursday, they announced that three of Marti's relatives were in custody and a fourth charged and released on bail. Among them is Omar's brother Victor Marti II, who is allegedly his accomplice in drug dealing.
Police also filed charges against the brothers' father, Victor Marti Sr., who is accused of helping Omar Marti elude justice, and has previously been charged with dealing crack and marijuana. The resolution of the charges against the father could not be determined Saturday, but police said he has a criminal record.
"This guy is no role model of a father," said Mike Mordaga, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.
In Paterson, Clifton police gathered at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where Farrell was said to be in good spirits Saturday after suffering gunshot wounds in the elbow and both legs. He may require additional surgery, but is expected to recover with the help of physical therapy, said Clifton Chief Robert Ferreri.
In Fair Lawn, the healing may take much longer. Residents, still stunned by the death of the borough's first female police officer, gathered outside the municipal building to pay respects at a small memorial. Others expressed condolences on the borough police department's Web site.
"I cannot believe Mary Ann is gone," one message said. "It all seems like a dream that we all will awake from. She was a great cop that went the extra mile for someone in need ... she will be missed deeply by so many, and never will be forgotten."
Her funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anne Roman Catholic Church in Fair Lawn.
On Saturday, authorities said interviews with suspects in custody, witnesses, and Farrell helped them piece together the following account of the shooting and escape:
At about 9:45 p.m. Thursday Omar Marti was behind the wheel of a 1989 Nissan 280 with his cousin Ivan Marti in the passenger seat. They were trailed by a white Ford Escort station wagon owned by Omar and driven by Victor Marti II. According to police, the trio had 4 ounces of marijuana packaged in small plastic baggies ready to sell.
They got on Route 46 eastbound in Clifton, where Farrell was on patrol.
But Victor Marti II didn't have a license, and when he saw Farrell's patrol car, he panicked and sped off.
Farrell began to trail the speeding vehicles. He checked the license plate number on the Nissan, but came back with no registration information. Police aren't yet sure why that happened, but they were able to trace the vehicle identification number to Victor Marti Sr. - their first connection between the killing and the Marti family.
The three cars sped north on Route 20 through Paterson.
Reports indicating that something was thrown from the Nissan are still vague, Molinelli said. As of Saturday night investigators had not found anything.
The three cars crossed the Morlot Avenue bridge into Fair Lawn and raced several blocks toward the Van Riper Ellis/Broadway Baptist Church. Omar lost control of the Nissan, which jumped a curb onto the church's lawn. Victor Marti II lingered in the area in the other vehicle.
Ivan Marti threw his hands up in surrender for a brief moment, then ran. Omar Marti sprinted toward the rear of the church with Farrell on his heels.
"At this time, Collura joined, notified by the Clifton Police Department," Molinelli said.
Farrell and Omar Marti tussled on the ground. When the officer tried to use his pepper spray to restrain him, the suspect pulled out a .357 Magnum and fired two or three rounds into Collura. One bullet struck Collura in the neck, rupturing a major artery. Another hit her in the lower abdomen. She fell to the ground.
Omar Marti then fired at Farrell. The suspect jumped up, got into Collura's patrol car, and took off in a hail of bullets from Farrell's 9mm Beretta - but not before trying to mow down Farrell. He ran over Collura, leaving her with a fractured arm and several broken ribs. She was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's.
Backup had already arrived, and additional patrol cars gave chase. Omar Marti abandoned the patrol car at Broadway and 31st Street in Paterson. Inside the patrol car, police later found the .357 Magnum pistol they said was used to kill Collura and shoot Farrell. They found a second gun near the shootings.
Back in Fair Lawn, Victor Marti II had been waiting in the Ford near the church.
Ivan Marti had fled on foot to 5th Street in Fair Lawn, and called Victor Marti II asking for a ride. Victor brought him back to the Paulison Avenue house in Passaic where most of the family lives.
Then Omar Marti called. He was hiding on a street corner in Paterson. His brother picked him up and brought him back to the Paulison Avenue home as well.
After his sons were back home in Passaic, the elder Victor Marti dropped off Omar Marti at an undisclosed location in Passaic, from where he would continue his flight from authorities. Then Victor Marti Sr. took his other son to two Passaic social clubs, trying to formulate an alibi for Victor Marti II
Authorities had made significant headway into the investigation when Ivan Marti gave himself up Friday and was charged with drug and weapons offenses and hindering apprehension. Later that day, Victor Marti II and Victor Marti Sr. were arrested without incident. The son was charged with hindering apprehension and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The father was charged with hindering apprehension.
Also arrested was a third brother, Joseph Marti, 36. He was released on $10,000 bail and charged with hindering apprehension for allegedly knowing where his wanted brother was hiding but not telling police.
All the Martis except Ivan live on Paulison Avenue in Passaic in a brickface yellow home. On Saturday, the windows were shut tightly, and all the shades drawn. No one answered a knock on the door.
At Ivan Marti's residence on Linwood Avenue in Paterson, a sign reading "God Bless America" and a plaque with a religious quote in Spanish hang on the front door.
On the steps in front of her home, Ivan Marti's stepmother, Evonne, said the message on the door embodies her family and her stepson.
"We are law-abiding citizens. We are for the law," Evonne said, her brown eyes tearing. "Ivan would never take life away from nobody, Ivan would never do a thing like that. Never."
She declined to give her last name. A man who identified himself as Ivan's father stressed that his son turned himself into police.
"My son gave up first," said the man, with his hands in the air to demonstrate.
Records from the state Department of Corrections indicate that Ivan Marti served about two years in prison for a robbery and was released in 1998.
Omar Marti had been arrested before for an alleged drug offense, but the resolution of that case could not be determined Saturday.
Flanked by about 25 officers from Fair Lawn, Clifton, Paterson, and other agencies, Molinelli would not comment on Omar Marti's record other than to say he is not permitted to own a gun.
"At this point in time, it wouldn't matter to me if it was his first offense,'' Molinelli said of the shooting. "The one purpose on Omar Marti's mind was to kill both officers.''
OMAR MARTI, Passaic
- Allegedly killed Fair Lawn Officer Mary Ann Collura.
- Allegedly wounded Clifton Officer Steven Farrell.
- Charged with murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, possession of |marijuana with intent to |distribute, carjacking, |possession of burglary tools.
- At large and considered armed and dangerous.
* * *
Prosecutor's Office account of shooting and suspect's escape:
- Omar Marti and cousin Ivan Marti are on Route 46 in Clifton in a red Nissan 280. Riding nearby in a white Ford Escort station wagon is Omar Marti's brother, Victor Marti II. Police said they were transporting marijuana.
- Clifton Officer Steven Farrell is on his regular patrol and begins to pursue the two cars, believing they are speeding.
- The chase leads to Fair Lawn, where Omar Marti jumps the Nissan over a curb and skids through a church parking lot. Farrell chases Omar Marti toward the rear parking lot of the church. Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura arrives as backup.
- Farrell and Omar Marti struggle on the ground. As Farrell reaches for his pepper spray, Omar Marti shoots Collura at least twice, then shoots Farrell.
- Farrell fires his gun at Omar Marti as he flees in Collura's patrol car. Omar Marti runs over Collura, who is pronounced dead soon after.
- Omar Marti escapes to Paterson, where he leaves the car.
- In Fair Lawn, Victor Marti II gets calls from Ivan and Omar Marti. He picks them up separately and takes them to the family home in Passaic.
- In Passaic, Victor Marti Sr., father of Omar and Victor Marti II, drops off Omar Marti at an undisclosed site.
- Victor Sr. and Victor II go to two social clubs in Passaic, trying to build an alibi for the younger man.
- Within seven hours of the shooting, Omar Marti is apparently spotted at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, possibly headed north. The search focuses on Broome County, N.Y., where Omar Marti is said to have lived in recent years.
Staff Writers John Brennan, Catherine Holahan, Jean Rimbach, and Eman Varoqua contributed to this article. Ashanti M. Alvarez's e-mail address is alvarez@northjersey.com
Racial Profiling was stopped in NJ along the NJ Turnpike and now, in two yrs., 3 police officers are killed by guns, 2 in NJ and 1 in NYC. It's now open season to traffic guns and drugs in NJ along I-95/NJ Turnpike. And why "pepper spray" and not guns? Could it be that after the Amadiou Diallo incident in NYC, police officers are no longer allowed to pull out and use their service revolvers? There are many questions which need to be answered.
I used to live in Fair Lawn, about 8 blocks from the intersection in question; my sister still lives there. She went to the Fair Lawn Police Department to place flowers there yesterday; apparently lots of people are doing that. This police officer was well liked by everyone in the community. Its still a great neighborhood, but unfortunately the 'creeps' from Paterson come across the bridge onto Broadway (Route 4); my sister had her car stolen 2 years ago, months later they caught the guys; apparently they had a 'professional' business going where they would steal cars and disassemble them for parts that are in high demand. never got the car back, but they found some of the discarded parts on the banks of the Passaic River. I keep telling her its time to move out; but then again it seems to be getting worse all over.
.jpg)
