Conviction in 2006 Miller Place manslaughter upheld

A state appeals court has upheld the racially tinged 2007 manslaughter conviction of John White, the Miller Place man who shot and killed a drunken white teenager at the end of his driveway after a gang came to fight his son.

A four-judge panel of the state Appellate Division acknowledged that the case of White, the African-American man who shot Daniel Cicciaro Jr., presented a wrenching dilemma, but unanimously declined to overturn the jury based either on White's claim that he was entitled to defend his property or in the broader "interests of justice."

"The victim and his friends came to the defendant's home late at night seeking to engage in a fight with the defendant's son," wrote Justice Randall Eng. "The law does not require that we turn a blind eye to human emotion, and we can appreciate that a parent in the defendant's situation would be concerned for the welfare of his son, and feel anger as the situation began to unfold.

"However, the defendant, instead of choosing the prudent alternative course of remaining inside and contacting the police, got dressed, loaded and unloaded a shotgun, and selected a loaded pistol to carry outside for his confrontation with the youths. The defendant then took the life of a 17-year-old, shooting him at close range under circumstances which do not amount to legal justification."

White, 56, has been free on bail while the appeal was pending. He faces a 2- to 4-year prison sentence when the case returns to Suffolk County Court, but defense lawyer Frederick Brewington said White's legal team plans to seek a stay of the sentence while they ask the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, to review the ruling.

"We're disappointed with the determination," Brewington said. "This has been a long and grueling process for everyone that's involved. John White is maintaining his sense of being prayerful and hopeful. He's just going day to day."

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota praised the ruling. "Today's decision clearly and unequivocally supports the jury verdict in this case," Spota said. " . . . This tragedy could have been avoided had Mr. White stayed inside his home and called 911."

Daniel Cicciaro Sr., the victim's father, said the court's decision didn't remove the pain of losing his son, but he called it "very good news" and a "long overdue" vindication of the jury's December 2007 verdict.

"It's time to pay the piper," Cicciaro said. "Sooner or later he's going to jail."

The August 2006 incident was triggered when Daniel Cicciaro Jr., of Selden, and several friends became mistakenly convinced that White's son Aaron had posted inappropriate remarks about a girl on the Internet. Prosecutors said it was all nonracial, but the defense said race played a big part in White's reaction.

Testimony differed on the shooting itself. White said Cicciaro was shot by accident when he tried to slap away the gun White was holding, but Cicciaro's friends say White pulled the trigger and shot him in the face on purpose. White was convicted of illegal gun possession as well as manslaughter.

With Carl MacGowan