Landlord to stand trial in carbon monoxide deaths

Brentwood landlord Wilson Milord is to go on trial Wednesday in Riverhead for the 2007 carbon monoxide deaths of three people at a West Babylon home he owned.

He had appeared set to plead guilty Tuesday in Suffolk County Court, but in the eyes of a judge took too much time studying the details of a proposed plea agreement.

After Milord spent about 15 minutes poring over the written plea deal with his court-appointed legal adviser, Judge James Hudson announced the deal had been withdrawn by prosecutors. The judge said jury selection would begin this morning.

It was the latest twist in the long-running case involving Milord, 49, who has pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide and grand larceny in the November 2007 deaths of two tenants and a neighbor at the house.

Milord declined to comment outside court.

Luis Ramos, a supporter of Milord, said the judge did not give Milord enough time to read the document.

"He feels they're putting him up against the wall," Ramos said outside court. "He's innocent. He knows he's innocent."

Prosecutors said Tanisha Armstrong, 25, her daughter, Talani Johnson, 4, and neighbor Ricardo Pearce, 27, died from carbon monoxide from a gas-powered generator installed by Milord.

Milord has blamed the tragedy on the tenants, who he claims installed the generators themselves. If convicted at trial, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Hudson said.

Hudson last week ordered Milord to act as his own attorney when his previous attorneys resigned from the case. Hudson ruled that Milord had shown a "clear pattern" of hiring attorneys and then refusing to pay them. At least two other attorneys had resigned in the past year.

Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides Tuesday offered Milord a deal in which he would serve 1 to 3 years in prison for pleading guilty.

Milord told Hudson he wanted to accept the deal. But after consulting with his legal adviser, Harry Tilis of Hauppauge, and with Ramos, Milord said he did not understand sections of the agreement in which he gave up his right to appeal and acknowledged he was serving as his own attorney.

"I'm my own attorney?" he asked Hudson. "I am not an attorney."

Reached by phone, Tilis said he answered Milord's questions but was not allowed to give Milord legal advice.

"It's up to Wilson to negotiate the plea. It's up to Wilson to have conversations with the DA," Tilis said.

Ramos said Milord will try to find an attorney.

"He can't represent himself," Ramos said. "There's no possible way."Milord's previous attorney, Albert Dayan of Kew Gardens, asked Hudson in February for a change of venue, arguing that media accounts of the case made it impossible for Milord to receive a fair trial.

Dayan resigned June 7, saying he had disputes with Milord over his pay. He also said Milord ignored his recommendation to plead guilty.

Hudson then ordered Milord to act as his own attorney. After Dayan quit, attorney Vincent D'Elia of Jersey City, N.J., stepped forward last week and offered to represent Milord. But he declined Monday to take Milord's case. D'Elia could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Tilis was assigned last week by Hudson to be Milord's legal adviser.