Victim's grandmother says she's been praying for arrest

Judith Drolet had been praying for this day since her grandson Richard Bailey was found fatally shot 11 months ago in Albany. Finally, she said Monday, someone will be held accountable.

"I went to bed every night and all I would say is, 'Please catch someone,' " Drolet said in a tearful interview at her Levittown home Monday night.

Bailey's parents, Jim and Lisa Bailey, traveled to Albany Monday for the arraignment of three young men charged with their 22-year-old son's murder. Lisa broke down in tears after learning of the arrests, Drolet said, while the news caused Jim to shake uncontrollably.

The couple could not be reached for comment last night, but Jim Bailey told reporters in Albany that the arrests would not bring his son back, the Albany Times-Union reported.

The arrests bring to an end one chapter in this painful ordeal for the Baileys. Their son, a sociology major at the University at Albany, planned to become a New York City police officer like his father and take care of his developmentally disabled younger sister, Drolet said.

Almost every day, Lisa Bailey has visited St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, placing flowers at her son's grave, her mother said. The family helped Richard's friends organize a football tournament to fund a memorial scholarship in his name, she said.

Meanwhile, Jim Bailey monitored the criminal probe from their Wantagh home, getting frequent updates from an Albany police commander.

In recent months, Drolet said, the family learned that police had several suspects but did not have evidence to file charges. "Almost from the beginning, [police] said they knew who did it and would get them before the year was up," Drolet said. "It was important [to police] to get them before the year anniversary."

As they waited for answers, the family was racked by other deaths - Jim's brother and Lisa's father and grandmother. "It has been the hardest year," Drolet said. "My daughter and my son-in-law, I don't know how they held together all this time."

Now they are girding for the prospect of hearings and courtroom maneuvering leading to a trial of three teenagers. Drolet said she wants a long prison term for Devon Callicutt of Rensselaer, 19, accused of pulling the trigger. "I don't ever want to see him leave prison," Drolet said.