A police officer charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed schoolboy pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned today.
Cpl Dennis Sturrup is accused of gunning down 15-year-old Gino Finley Jr in the Seagrape Shopping Plaza on May 23, 2017.
Sturrup was part of a team of officers that responded to a robbery at the QVS Pharmacy. Initially, police said that Finley was one of the armed robbers.
But it emerged during a coroner’s inquest into the deadly shooting that Finley was unarmed when he was shot in the head and chest.
The inquest jury recommended a charge of manslaughter by homicide.
After reviewing the case, DPP Cordell Frazier charged Sturrup with manslaughter.
Sturrup could possibly be tried as early as May 2025.
He remains on bail.