Lawyer says Albanian gangster acted in self defense in fatal Staten Island stabbing
One day after a Staten Island groom-to-be was laid to rest, a lawyer for his accused killer claimed his client had acted in self-defense.
Redinel Dervishaj, 35, was arraigned Friday on murder charges in the stabbing of Antonio Lacertosa, 27, during a brawl following the victim’s engagement party. The reputed Albanian gangster, who was caught at a relative’s home in Illinois three days ago, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.
"I believe there were several people who were potentially attacking my client," lawyer Thomas Reilly said outside Staten Island Criminal Court. "It looks like he has a decent self-defense case."
The court-appointed attorney said Dervishaj intends to testify in front of a grand jury to "tell his side of the story."
He would not comment on why his client had fled out of state said Dervishaj’s alleged criminal background did not play a part in the incident.
Workers of the Espana Restaurant and Lounge in Annadale confronted Lacertosa's crew early Saturday for urinating outside, with a manager pulling out a gun, sources said. Dervishaj can be seen on a surveillance tape running back into the restaurant after getting tossed over a parked car.
The hulking, 6-foot-6 suspect kept his head down and said nothing during the brief court hearing.
Relatives of the victim, who mourned him a day earlier, were not present in court.
"He would not want us to dwell on the events that took him from us, but to keep him alive in our hearts as happy as he was," Lacertosa's sister Jeanine Caravuna said at the funeral.
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