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RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) Unleashing a torrent of curses as the verdict was read, twin brothers were convicted of severely beating an off-duty New York firefighter on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
A jury found Darrell and Darian Taylor guilty of gang assault and first-degree assault in the attack last year, which left Richard Berkhout with a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. The Taylors were acquitted of attacking Berkhout's wife.
Darrell Taylor greeted the verdict by banging his fist on a table and swearing emphatically until Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle ordered him removed from the courtroom. Darian Taylor swore at the firefighter and told his wife, "I hope you rot in hell."
Berkhout, meanwhile, hugged his wife in a seat in the courtroom gallery. He declined to comment on the verdict.
Darrell Taylor, of Mastic, and Darian Taylor, of Center Moriches, face a maximum of 25 years to life in prison at their sentencing, set for Jan. 8. Both are 29.
Their half brother, Christopher Robinson, 26, also was charged in the beating. A separate jury was weighing his case.
Berkhout, 47, was attacked while walking with his wife in Mastic Beach on the night of Sept. 11, 2006. The couple had been to commemorative services earlier in the day.
Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Elena Tomaro said the firefighter told a passing car to slow down, and the Taylors and Robinson hopped out and attacked him. The brothers' lawyers said a drunken Berkhout also cursed at the trio.
The defense lawyers said their clients faced tough odds given the emotions surrounding the case, which brought dozens of firefighters to the defendants' arraignment last year.
The victim is "just a great guy," said Darrell Taylor's lawyer, Richard Stafford.
"He was a firefighter on 9/11, a volunteer in his community, and had just an impeccable background. That's a lot for a jury to overlook."
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