Wendy's Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Wendy's Massacre was a shooting spree that took place in a Wendy's
fast-food restaurant at 40-12 Main Street in Flushing
, Queens
, New York City
, New York
, on May 24, 2000.
with a Bryco-Jennings
Model J38 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. All but two of the employees died. One of the survivors dialled 9-1-1
, and police arrived to find the victims and discovered $2,400 missing from the safe.
, and fingerprint
s. On January 22, 2001, Godineaux pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to life in prison. Judge Steven W. Fisher
instructed the jury that he would most likely sentence Taylor to a sentence of 175 years in prison if the jury did not return a unanimous verdict on the death penalty. On November 19, 2002, Taylor was convicted on 20 counts of murder and attempted murder. One week later, on November 26, the jury sentenced Taylor to death.
The Queens prosecutor's office fought unsuccessfully to have Taylor's case declared an exception to a 2004 Appeals Court's decision that found New York's death penalty law unconstitutional because of a flaw in its mandated instructions to the jury. On November 29, 2007 Taylor was re-sentenced to life without parole for the five murders. As of 2007, he had been the only inmate on Death Row in New York.
were:
Seriously wounded:
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
fast-food restaurant at 40-12 Main Street in Flushing
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on May 24, 2000.
Robbery and killing of employees
The killings were carried out by 36-year-old John Taylor, a former employee of the restaurant, and his accomplice Craig Godineaux. The robbery was carefully planned, as Taylor had the manager of the restaurant (who he knew) summon the entire staff to the basement on the pretense of having an important meeting. Once in the basement, Taylor and Godineaux bound and gagged all seven of the employees at gunpoint and then shot each of them in the head at point-blank rangePoint-blank range
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm. The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
with a Bryco-Jennings
Bryco Arms/Jennings Firearms/Jimenez Arms
Jimenez Arms, also known as "J.A.", is an American firearms manufacturer based in Henderson in Nevada. The company was started in August 2004 using the molds and machinery from bankrupt Bryco Arms and currently makes four models of firearm.-Bryco Arms:...
Model J38 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. All but two of the employees died. One of the survivors dialled 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
, and police arrived to find the victims and discovered $2,400 missing from the safe.
Arrests and trial
The NYPD arrested Taylor and Godineaux less than 48 hours after the killings. Evidence quickly mounted against the pair, including eyewitness testimony, ballisticsBallistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
, and fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s. On January 22, 2001, Godineaux pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to life in prison. Judge Steven W. Fisher
Steven W. Fisher
Steven William Fisher was an American attorney who served on the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division and had presided over the trial in the Wendy's massacre while serving on New York State Supreme Court in which the defendant was the last to be assessed the death penalty.Fisher was born in...
instructed the jury that he would most likely sentence Taylor to a sentence of 175 years in prison if the jury did not return a unanimous verdict on the death penalty. On November 19, 2002, Taylor was convicted on 20 counts of murder and attempted murder. One week later, on November 26, the jury sentenced Taylor to death.
Post-conviction
On October 23, 2007, the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, New York's highest court, vacated the death penalty portion of the verdict.The Queens prosecutor's office fought unsuccessfully to have Taylor's case declared an exception to a 2004 Appeals Court's decision that found New York's death penalty law unconstitutional because of a flaw in its mandated instructions to the jury. On November 29, 2007 Taylor was re-sentenced to life without parole for the five murders. As of 2007, he had been the only inmate on Death Row in New York.
Victims
Killed in the massacreMassacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
were:
- Jean Auguste, 27
- Ali Ibadat, 40
- Jeremy Mele, 19
- Ramon Nazario, 44
- Anita Smith, 23
Seriously wounded:
- Ja Quione Johnson, 18
- Patricio (Patrick) Castro, 23