Dylan Lentini claims self-defense from sex attack in Wimbert slaying

12-11-2015 New York:

A 19-year-old Manhattan homeless man says he was fending off a sexual attack when he fatally stabbed a 66-year-old former teacher in West Nyack.

Dylan Lentini pleaded not guilty to murder and robbery charges during his arraignment Thursday in state Supreme Court in New City.

He is accused of killing Michael Wimbert on Dec. 1 at Wimbert's apartment at 68 Demarest Ave. in West Nyack, where he had been living for several days. Wimbert met his Lentini Nov. 27 through an advertisement for a roommate placed on Craigslist, Clarkstown police said.

Lentini was "the victim of an unwanted sexual attack and he defended himself," defense lawyer Walter Sakowski claimed after an arraignment on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice William Kelly at the Rockland Courthouse in New City. Sakowski is representing Lentini with fellow public defender Kenneth Murphy.

Sakowski said the 19-year-old was sleeping when Wimbert tried to molest him. Lentini's attorneys said they also are investigating other claims of potential sexual abuse by Wimbert at the apartment.

Rockland prosecutor Dominic Crispino noted Lentini's story, but said Wimbert suffered about two dozen stab wounds, including many to his throat and neck. The law mandates certain criteria for self-defense

"This was a particularly vicious and heinous crime," Crispino said after the arraignment.

A grand jury last week indicted Lentini on four counts of second-degree intentional murder and three counts of first-degree robbery. Three of the murder counts involve killing Wimbert during the robbery of about $150.

Lentini said little in court as he stood chained at the ankles and waist in an orange jumpsuit and green jail jacket. He is due back in court on Jan. 21 and is being held without bail in the Rockland County jail in New City. The murder counts carry a potential prison sentence of 15 to 25 years to life on the murder charge.

An autopsy report by the Rockland County Medical Examiner's Office will be concluded within a few months, prosecutors said.

Lentini took a train from a Manhattan homeless shelter to White Plains to meet Wimbert on Nov. 27 and lived in the Demarest Avenue apartment until Tuesday, Dec. 1, when police found Wimbert dead from multiple stab wounds on the floor.

Before moving in with Wimbert, Lentini had been living at the Covenant House for homeless youths on 41st Street in Manhattan, police said. He hailed from West Sacramento, California, according to his Facebook page. He played high school baseball and basketball and had studied mathematics at Solano Community College, it says.

Clarkstown police officers detained Lentini, who needed seven or eight stitches for a knife wound on his right hand, on West Nyack Road shortly after finding Wimbert dead. Police recovered the alleged murder weapon, a carving knife.

A resident called the police after a young man had run out of the house yelling, "Call the hospital! Call 911!" Clarkstown Police Chief Michael Sullivan said.

“This was an extremely brutal attack," Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said, noting the 24 stab wounds. "It is our hope that this prosecution will bring justice for Michael Wimbert, and provide closure to his grieving family and friends.”

Wimbert had been a teacher for special needs students and was known for volunteering. But his landlord said he had been recovering from surgery and having trouble finding paid work.

Lentini had disciplinary problems and drug issues while attending Vacaville High School in Vacaville, Calfornia, the school's athletic director told The Journal News.

But a colleague who worked with him more recently at a New York City area call center said while Lentini had a drinking problem he was "very hard working." She said he had saved up about $1,400 before looking for an apartment and refused to live in a shelter where many of the youths were gay or where there was extensive violence. ..Source.. by Steve Lieberman,