Published: May 14, 2008 06:06 pm            

COUNTY COURT: Prosecutors looking to match suspect to evidence at homicide crime scene

A Niagara County Court judge turned aside objections from lawyers for accused killer Brandon “RATT” Dennis on Wednesday and ordered the Buffalo gang member to give a DNA sample to prosecutors.

“I’m going to grant (the DNA request from prosecutors),” Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza said. “It’s not intrusive.”

A technician from the Niagara County Crime Lab immediately took a saliva sample from Dennis, which will be used to create a DNA profile.

“I want to compare (Dennis’ DNA profile) to evidence found at the crime scene,” Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffman said when questioned about her request.

Hoffman declined to say what DNA evidence was recovered by crime scene investigators.

Dennis, 21, who uses several Buffalo addresses, and who also uses the name James Funderburk, is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the August murder of Donald Paige in the driveway of his 21st Street home.

His defense attorney, Angelo Musitano, had argued that there is little hard evidence that ties his client to the killing and suggested that prosecutors were on a “fishing expedition” with their DNA request.

“They have a photo ID by a victim (of Dennis),” Musitano said. “That’s all they’ve got.”

Prosecutors have fingerprint and DNA evidence that links Dennis’ co-defendent, Paul “Young Money” Osborne, to the crime scene. Osborne, 21, No. 10 Seventh St., Apt. 421, Buffalo, faces two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery in the case.

Osborne has asked Niagara County Court Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza to sever his trial from Dennis’ on the grounds there are conflicts of interest. Sperrazza has reserved a decision on that request.

His attorney, Matthew Pynn, has argued that his strategy at trial would be “antagonistic” with the strategy of Musitano. However, Musitano said after Wednesday’s hearing for his client that he saw no reason to sever the cases.

“I have no objection (to Pynn’s motion to separate the cases of Osborne and Dennis),” Musitano said. “But we will not ask for severance.”

Paige, 24, 2320 21st St., was ambushed Aug. 23 by two men and then shot and killed during a struggle with his assailants. His sister was wounded in the attack.

Investigators said Paige and a friend had just returned from shopping and getting Paige’s SUV washed, when Osborne and Dennis showed up. Paige had gone inside the home while his friend remained in the vehicle in the driveway.

Detectives believe Osborne and Dennis got into the back seat of Paige’s SUV, armed with a MAC-10 and a semi-automatic handgun, and then robbed Paige’s friend of some cash, his ring and a cell phone.

After hitting the friend in the head with the MAC-10, Osborne and Dennis then got out of the vehicle and confronted Paige.

“Both the (gun)men got out of the car and they trapped Paige between the car and the house, which is a space of about 3 feet,” Falls Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said at the time. “A struggle ensued and that commotion brought other people out of the house.”

The struggle left Osborne’s fingerprints on Paige’s SUV.

“Because the car had just been washed, we were able to pull those prints off the car and they were fresh prints,” Palmer said.

Investigators, who had been struggling to find leads in the case, were able to match the fingerprints taken from Paige’s SUV with Osborne’s prints in a criminal records data base.

Osborne admitted to police that he knew Paige and had some “drug dealings” with him, but denied killing him. Asked by detectives if he knew that Paige had been killed, Osborne replied, “No. Yeah, my dad told me.”

When investigators asked him if he knew anything about the slaying, Osborne responded, “I didn’t kill Donald Paige.”

        

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