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KILLER'S SURPRISE
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| Cop killer Lee Woods (above) and Officer Russel Timoshenko (inset) |
Cop killer Lee Woods (right) looked stunned yesterday when court officers slapped cuffs on him after he was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the slaying of Officer Russel Timoshenko (inset).
Woods, 31, declined to speak before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abraham Gerges threw the book at him in the slaying of Timoshenko, 23, and the wounding of Officer Herman Yan.
Prosecutors said Woods was behind the wheel of a stolen BMW on July 9, 2007, with two other men when the two cops on patrol pulled the vehicle over in Crown Heights.
The officers were met by a hail of gunfire that killed Timoshenko and left Yan with a golf-ball sized bullet hole in his forearm.
Timoshenko's mother, Tatyana, looked directly at Woods, who met her gaze, as she spoke in open court, comparing her son's immigrant work ethic with the killer's love of easy money.
"You took our dreams," said Mrs. Timoshenko, a native of Belarus. "You took everything that we work for, everything that we work for in this country. Russel saw opportunities in this country and dedicated himself and sacrificed his life to protecting the people of this city. You also saw opportunities in this country and dedicated yourself to a life of crime."
Woods was convicted last month for his role in the slaying. Cohort Dexter Bostic, 36, was convicted in December of firing the shots that killed Timoshenko and is also now serving life.
Robert Ellis, 35, beat charges that he fired the shots that struck Yan, but is doing 15 years for weapons possession.
"It sickens me to think that a good human being, an asset to the society, is now not with us anymore because of this senseless act," Yan said to Judge Gerges at the sentencing. "The NYPD upholds the law, so please, return the favor and use the law to protect us from people like him."
Gerges had little to decide. A new law enacted by the Legislature mandates a no-parole life sentence for cop killers.
Even without the new law, Woods -- a three-time violent felon convicted at age 15 of a shooting -- would likely have spent the rest of his life behind bars.
alex.ginsberg@nypost.com
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