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FLORIDA (USA): COP KILLER DELGADO GETS DEATH SENTENCE
February 10, 2012: Circuit Judge Emmett Lamar Battles officially sentenced Humberto Delgado, 36, Hispanic, to death, following the Nov. 17 jury’s recommendation.
A Hillsborough County jury voted 8-4 to recommend the death penalty for Delgado in the Aug. 19, 2009 killing of Tampa police officer Michael Roberts, 38, white.
Delgado was homeless and paranoid, pushing a shopping cart, when Roberts approached him that night. At some point, Delgado ran, the corporal shot a Taser and a scuffle ensued. Roberts was knocked unconscious before Delgado shot him, took his radio and ran.
His primary defense, during a 3-week trial last November, was his mental illness.
He was diagnosed as bipolar, with psychotic features. Delgado's family has said the 36-year-old former police officer in the U.S. Virgin Islands was medically discharged from the U.S. Army due to bipolar disorder and physical issues. (Source: Tampa Bay Times, 10/02/2012)
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