Hearing to be held in arrest in police officer's death

In a partial reversal of an earlier ruling, a State Supreme Court justice has decided to hold a hearing on whether a Plainview man was properly arrested on charges he caused a crash in Commack last year that killed a Suffolk police officer.

Justice Robert W. Doyle ruled in April that an attorney for Jose Borbon, 24, had offered insufficient evidence that police lacked probable cause to arrest Borbon and take a blood sample from him following the Feb. 22, 2009, crash that killed Officer Glen Ciano.

Doyle, in a decision dated Sept. 30, reversed his previous ruling because he said Borbon and his attorney, William Petrillo of Rockville Centre, had since provided an affidavit backing up their allegations.

Doyle said the hearing would be held immediately before Borbon's trial. No trial date has been set.

Petrillo declined to comment Friday.

Borbon has pleaded not guilty to first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter and other charges in connection with Ciano's death. He is being held on $1 million bail and is due back in court Nov. 17.

Prosecutors say Ciano was killed when his police cruiser was struck by a car driven by Borbon at Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road. Borbon was drinking and talking on a cell phone at the time of the crash, prosecutors said.

Borbon had a blood-alcohol level of .19 percent, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent, authorities have said.

In his decision last month, Doyle also ruled Borbon would face separate trials for Ciano's death and for allegedly directing an acquaintance to give cocaine to a girl under the age of 17, hours before the crash.

Doyle said Ciano's death and the alleged incident with the girl do not "constitute a single criminal incident."

Borbon has pleaded not guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in the alleged drug incident.

In a separate decision, Doyle ruled Thursday he would conduct hearings on whether police properly searched Borbon's apartment and cell phone after the fatal crash.