Woman Accused Of Killing Miami Cop Found Guilty
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – It took jurors less than two hours of deliberations on Friday evening to convict Tiniko Thompson of murdering her boyfriend, Miami Police Officer Carl Patrick, in May 2014.
Patrick's close friends say the verdict was about more than justice. They say it was also about restoring Carl Patrick's good name.
Melissa Johnson worked with Patrick for more than two decades. She said Thompson falsely accused the beloved officer of being an abusive boyfriend.
"The defendant tried to depict him as an abuser and it's quite to the contrary," she said. "He was not. He was a loving person, a loving son, a loving friend."
The verdict also brought tears to some of Patrick's former co-workers.
"When you saw those police officers over there crying, when you saw the emotion because Carl was our family," said former Miami Police Assistant Chief Craig McQueen.
Thompson alleged that the shooting death in May 2014 was self-defense.
She said she and Patrick argued, wrestled with a gun and it fired.
But prosecutors convincingly proved to jurors that Thompson lied to Patrick about being pregnant with his child, ran up his credit cards and the couple fought.
They said Thompson shot Patrick in the arm and left him to die without getting him medical help.
Prosecutor Shari Tate said from the beginning Thompson tried to deflect blame onto Patrick even during an interview with a South Florida television station.
"They aired horrible things about Carl Patrick to the South Florida community and now that the trial is done and the evidence is out and everyone can see that all of that was a lie," Tate said.
Tate showed CBS4's Carey Codd a pin that Patrick's mother Lucille gave her prior to the trial. It says "Believe."
"She swore to me she would hang on and be here for the fight through the very end and she's been amazing," Tate said. "And we wanted to get justice for her and let Carl rest in peace."
After the verdict, Patrick's family and friends prayed. His mother received hugs and praise for staying strong through the death of her son.
"Miss Lucille is a woman of faith," Melissa Johnson said. "She's a woman of strength and we just want his legacy to live on."
Tiniko Thompson will be sentenced on October 6. Prosecutors will ask that she spend the rest of her life in prison.
