Kathy Pinna
Suspect Held in Sept. Hi-Run Death
Hauppauge - Suffolk police yesterday charged an 18-year-old Dix Hills man with leaving the scene of an accident in which a Kings Park High School student was struck and killed September 19. Michael Cannon of 50 Pine Hill Lane, Dix Hills, was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail last night after being charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving serious physical injury or death - a Class E felony punishable by up to three years in prison. Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Frank Mushy said that the case will be presented to a grand jury, possibly next week.
Cannon, a high school dropout who works at Atlas Washer and Sims in West Babylon, surrendered to homicide detectives yesterday morning. His lawyer, Stanley Shapiro, said in court that Cannon had admitted to police that his car had struck 15-year-old John Lanieri as he walked along St. Johnland Road in front of St. Anthony's High School September 19. The case had led police to inspect more than 300 cars that matched the description of the car that struck Lanieri before they spotted Cannon's car abandoned on the side of Jericho Turnpike.
Homicide Squad Detectives Walter Walkenthien and Al tosi were called to the scene shortly after the 10:40 PM accident September 19. Witnesses there told them that the car that struck Lanieri appeared to have been a black-and-white Chrysler=Plymouth, Walkenthien said. The detectives got computer printouts of every black and white Chrysler-Plymouth made between 1970 and 1974 and which had been sold or registered in Suffolk County - more than 4,000 vehicles, Walkenthien said, and then spent several hours every working day, checking out cars on that list. Their break came Monday night after they had inspected more than 300 cars. "We were going from a car we looked at in Greenlawn to one in Commack," Walkenthien said. "All of a sudden, I see one off the side of the road on Jericho Turnpike. As soon as I took a close look, I was pretty sure it was the right onw. I had the kind of damage that was consistent with striking a pedestrian."
Tosi said they got a search warrant from Judge Marquette Floyd Monday night and seized Cannon's 1971 Dodge Demon, which he had left along the road Saturday night after a mechanical breakdown. Shapiro said that Cannon called him Tuesday after disvcovering that the car had been towed away, told him of the incident and both agreed that Cannon should surrender to police.
The detectives, meanwhile had run a computer check on the car's license plate number and found that Cannon had been involved in a minor accident October 10. They then pulled the accident report and learned that a passenger in Cannon's car October 10 was Danielle Moran, 15, of 12 Priscilla Road, Smithtown.
Miss Moran was then questioned about the events of September 19 and told the detectives that Cannon had come straight from work that night to pick her up at 11 PM at St. Anthony's where she was attending a school dance. She said that Cannon appeared to be upset but refused to say why and that they then left St. Anthony's and went out on a late dare.
Cannon Told the detectives that after he his Lanieri he turned off St. Johnland Road, parked his car and walked back to the school. He said that he stood outside with Miss Moran as rescue workers treated Lanieri. "When he (Cannon) saw the yellow sheet placed over the victim's face, he panicked," Shapiro said. Since Then, Shapiro said, Cannon had "been living in hell."
- Newsday (Nassau Edition) Friday, October 24, 1980, on page 21.
Cannon, a high school dropout who works at Atlas Washer and Sims in West Babylon, surrendered to homicide detectives yesterday morning. His lawyer, Stanley Shapiro, said in court that Cannon had admitted to police that his car had struck 15-year-old John Lanieri as he walked along St. Johnland Road in front of St. Anthony's High School September 19. The case had led police to inspect more than 300 cars that matched the description of the car that struck Lanieri before they spotted Cannon's car abandoned on the side of Jericho Turnpike.
Homicide Squad Detectives Walter Walkenthien and Al tosi were called to the scene shortly after the 10:40 PM accident September 19. Witnesses there told them that the car that struck Lanieri appeared to have been a black-and-white Chrysler=Plymouth, Walkenthien said. The detectives got computer printouts of every black and white Chrysler-Plymouth made between 1970 and 1974 and which had been sold or registered in Suffolk County - more than 4,000 vehicles, Walkenthien said, and then spent several hours every working day, checking out cars on that list. Their break came Monday night after they had inspected more than 300 cars. "We were going from a car we looked at in Greenlawn to one in Commack," Walkenthien said. "All of a sudden, I see one off the side of the road on Jericho Turnpike. As soon as I took a close look, I was pretty sure it was the right onw. I had the kind of damage that was consistent with striking a pedestrian."
Tosi said they got a search warrant from Judge Marquette Floyd Monday night and seized Cannon's 1971 Dodge Demon, which he had left along the road Saturday night after a mechanical breakdown. Shapiro said that Cannon called him Tuesday after disvcovering that the car had been towed away, told him of the incident and both agreed that Cannon should surrender to police.
The detectives, meanwhile had run a computer check on the car's license plate number and found that Cannon had been involved in a minor accident October 10. They then pulled the accident report and learned that a passenger in Cannon's car October 10 was Danielle Moran, 15, of 12 Priscilla Road, Smithtown.
Miss Moran was then questioned about the events of September 19 and told the detectives that Cannon had come straight from work that night to pick her up at 11 PM at St. Anthony's where she was attending a school dance. She said that Cannon appeared to be upset but refused to say why and that they then left St. Anthony's and went out on a late dare.
Cannon Told the detectives that after he his Lanieri he turned off St. Johnland Road, parked his car and walked back to the school. He said that he stood outside with Miss Moran as rescue workers treated Lanieri. "When he (Cannon) saw the yellow sheet placed over the victim's face, he panicked," Shapiro said. Since Then, Shapiro said, Cannon had "been living in hell."
- Newsday (Nassau Edition) Friday, October 24, 1980, on page 21.
