On April 2, 1978, two New York City police officers on patrol in Brooklyn were killed after a street stop on Willoughby Street turned deadly. Officer Christie Masone, 28, was shot during a struggle after one of the stopped men produced a 9mm handgun; his partner, Officer Norman Cerullo, was also fatally shot after leaving their patrol car to assist. One of the suspects died in the exchange of gunfire.

The surviving suspect was wounded in the legs but fled in a vehicle and crashed eight blocks away. An off-duty officer who learned of the shooting connected the crash to the incident and, with other officers, arrested the wounded suspect. He was found carrying a loaded .22 caliber Derringer in addition to the 9mm linked to the officers’ deaths.

That suspect was indicted for the murders; two trials ended in hung juries and a third resulted in acquittal. In 1984 the same individual was arrested, convicted, and given a long prison term for an unrelated murder.