A Staten Island man who was recently charged in a thirteen-year-old rape, after police matched his DNA from a discarded cigarette butt with that found at the crime scene, may still walk free on a technicality. Staten Island resident Lerio Guerrero has been connected to the rape and robbery of a woman in the Lower East Side in 1998; but because of a loophole in the statute of limitations, his lawyer is arguing that cops could have caught him years ago if they really wanted to. "They didn't use due diligence to try to find him," said lawyer James Palumbo.
During the attack, Guerrero allegedly left behind two pieces of evidence: a fingerprint from the ATM machine he dragged his victim to, and his blood. He had cut himself on the glass he was using to threaten his victim, and his blood fell on her coat. Police obtained a 'John Doe' indictment in 2005, before the statute of limitations would have expired, so that the case could be tried whenever the matching DNA was found. Although the statute at the time of the rape was five years, it could be extended to 10 years if investigators couldn't locate a known suspect despite "due diligence" in their search.
But Paulmbo argues that cops could have caught him within the original five year statute if they'd kept running his prints—Guerrero was arrested four times in NY State during that period, for drunk driving in 2000, marijuana in 2002, and drunk driving again in 2003 and 2006. The Judge has yet to rule on the dismissal plea.
