Court sets trial date in Revere cop's 2007 death

REVERE - Three Revere men will stand trial in January for the shooting death of Revere police officer Daniel Talbot.

A fourth suspect received an 8-12 year prison sentence Wednesday for his role in the Sept. 29, 2007 slaying of the off-duty patrolman in a field behind Revere High School.

Derek Lodie, 19, of Revere, pleaded guilty to the crime of accessory before the fact to manslaughter, admitting that he called Talbot's alleged killer, Robert Iacoviello Jr., 22, to the athletic field on the evening of the shooting after a verbal altercation with Talbot and other off-duty Revere police officers who were present at the scene.

Iacoviello and two co-defendants were indicted as accessories after the fact. A Suffolk Superior Court judge scheduled them to begin trial on Jan. 4.

"This marks a major step forward in our prosecution of the case," said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, referring to Lodie's conviction and the judicial process that will bring the other three suspects to trial. "It holds accountable a young man who was not the shooter, but who should have known the inherent danger of calling an armed associate to the scene and escalating it to the point of violence and death. We're focused now on the trial to come and the promise of justice for Officer Dan Talbot."

Norfolk Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady sentenced Lodie to eight to 12 years in state prison - a term recommended jointly by Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, chief of Conley's Homicide Unit, and defense attorney J.W. Carney, Jr. The proceedings took place in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham because Brady is currently seated in that jurisdiction.

Zabin told the court that the evidence assembled during an extensive investigation by state troopers and Revere police indicates Lodie was unaware that Talbot and his associates were police officers. Lodie was simply cutting across the athletic field when he became involved in a verbal altercation with Talbot, who made derogatory comments about the Bloods street gang, according to Zabin.

Lodie took offense and, instead of walking away, used his cell phone to call Iacoviello, who was "known to keep firearms" at a nearby location, Zabin said.

Since the act entailed summoning an armed assailant to the scene, it amounts in the eyes of the court to wanton and reckless conduct - in light of the probability that death or serious injury would result from bringing that person into the conflict.

At Wednesday's sentencing, the judge asked Lodie, "Do you admit that you're guilty of the crime you're pleading guilty to?"

Lodie responded, "Yes, your honor."

Prior to sentencing, members of Talbot's family told of what they lost when he was killed. His mother, Patricia Talbot, brought two framed photos to show the judge.

"I was helpless to help him," she said of the hours between his shooting and death. "If God had allowed me to trade places with him, I would have done it, no questions asked. I overheard someone say at the first court hearing that he might not have been killed if he said he was a police officer. But it doesn't matter if you're a police officer or a man on the street - no one has the right to kill anyone."

Talbot's fiancée, Constance Bethell, also addressed the court. She and Talbot had been engaged to marry on Oct. 4, 2008.

"My heart still aches and my stomach is still often in knots," she said. "It is hard to be strong. I miss kissing him goodbye each morning when I leave for work, I miss watching him put on his uniform each night before work. Billy Soto, not only Dan's brother in blue but his best friend, summed it up best when he read Dan's eulogy: Don't go to bed angry. Put aside your differences and complete what needs to be done. Know that life is precious. Live your life without regret. Do as much as you can in the short time you have. Love those you care about and help them, not only through times like these, but just because you have the chance to love them."

Local Weather