MAHOPAC- The fate of an NYPD sergeant residing in Mahopac charged with manslaughter for throwing a cooler at a man in the Bronx in the summer of 2023 is now in the hands of the judge.
Closing arguments were made yesterday in the case against Erik Duran who was charged with manslaughter for hurling a cooler at a drug suspect as he fled arrest in the Bronx, killing him.
Duran was indicted for causing the death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey, a delivery worker suspected of drug dealing.
The three-week trial ended after defense attorneys presented closing arguments — telling the court as Duprey was fleeing arrest on a scooter, Sgt. Duran had “1.4 seconds” to make a decision “to save his own life and the life of others” saying: “He was driving directly at them. He was trying to run them over. He was ambushing them.”
Prosecutors from the state attorney general’s office brought out the red Igloo itself and placed it on a table, calling the decision to throw it as “unreasonable and unnecessary.”
Duran has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, assault and criminally negligent homicide and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars if convicted.
A judge will decide Duran’s guilt or innocence on Friday.
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