LENTINI ROBBERY CHARGES DROPPED IN MURDER CASE; LENTINI ALLEGES WIMBERT RAPED HIM

BY CAROL MCILMURRAY

NEW CITY- All three counts of robbery in the first and three of the four murder in the second degree charges against Dylan Lentini, a 19-year-old homeless man, have been dropped by Supreme Court Judge William A. Kelly before the case has reached trial.

The charges stem from the Dec. 1, 2015 late night stabbing death of West Nyack resident Michael Wimbert, 66. Lentini still faces one count of murder in the second, a charge that states he committed murder with intent to cause death. In mid-December a grand jury indicted Dylan Lentini on all seven counts after listening to evidence presented by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.

Lentini testified at the grand jury hearing, offering his own account of the deadly night, claiming self-defense.

Arresting officers allege that during the arrest, subsequent ambulance ride and emergency room visit, Lentini stated that, “I may have had to stab someone.” Police report that Lentini said he only knew Michael Wimbert for four days while living in his upstairs apartment. Lentini had been staying in a homeless shelter prior to that time.

According to cops Lentini stated that Wimbert forced him into sexual acts against his will. Lentini claimed he had to protect himself many times during his stay due to Wimbert’s attempted sexual violations.  Lentini specifically claimed that Wimbert sexually violated him by sodomy against Lentini’s will. Police say that Lentini claimed Wimbert forced him to perform oral sex on more than one occasion.

According to the DA, the Dec. 1 incident ended in Lentini wielding a knife and Wimbert lying lifeless in his own second floor West Nyack apartment. Lentini was found a block away on W. Nyack Road after a neighbor saw a man matching his description flee the apartment house screaming, “Call 911! Call the hospital!”

Lentini was found on the dark road with a laceration on his right hand. Clarkstown Police recovered the alleged murder weapon, a carving knife, on Lentini around 2:05 a.m. at the time of his arrest for the fatal stabbing of Wimbert. At Lentini’s request Clarkstown Police transported him to Nyack Hospital where he received 6-7 stitches on his right hand.

Later that day, Clarkstown Justice David Asher remanded Lentini to Rockland County Jail without bail for the killing.

Executive Assistant District Attorney Dominic Crispino stated in court that while the defendant alleges self-defense, it does not justify or explain 24 stab wounds inflicted primarily around Wimbert’s torso and neck.

Lentini remains at the Rockland County Jail and the murder case is expected to go to trial by July 2016.