Edition: U.S. / Global

3 Are Guilty in Slaying of Grand Jury Witness

Published: July 1, 1988

Three young men were convicted yesterday of the shotgun slaying of a Queens grand jury witness in a case that raised public fears about the security of witnesses.

The slaying of Mildred Greene, 61 years old, in the early morning of Oct. 4, 1987, in the office of a South Jamaica car service where she worked as a dispatcher prompted the Queens District Attorney to post guards in grand jury areas and the New York City Police Department to order new, detailed procedures to handle threats against witnesses.

Mrs. Greene was killed shortly after she testified to a grand jury about witnessing a shootout that the prosecution said involved one of the defendants.

After a little more than two days of deliberations, the jury of eight men and four women entered the courtroom in State Supreme Court in Jamaica at 5:35 P.M. and, within five minutes, declared the three defendants, Paul King, 18; Derrick Kornegay, 22, and Tracy Middleton, 19, guilty of second-degree intentional murder. Relatives occupying the last two of four rows in the courtroom began crying softly. Judge's Directions to Jury

Mr. Kornegay and Mr. Middleton were also convicted of second-degree felony murder and second-degree burglary; Mr. King was acquitted of those charges.

About two hours earlier, the jurors told Justice John J. Leahy that they had reached a verdict on two of the defendants but could not reach a decision on the third, believed to be Mr. King. A key prosecution witness had testified that Mr. King attended a planning session in a crack house in which he suggested one of two plans for murdering Mrs. Greene. But Justice Leahy directed the jury to continue to deliberate.

The two murder charges each carry a minimum sentence of 15 years to life and a maximum sentence of 25 years to life. The burglary charge is punishable by a sentence of 5 to 15 years. By law, the sentences will run concurrently because they arise from the same crime. As the defendants rose separately to face the jurors, who stood with an American flag hanging on the wood-paneled wall behind them, the sounds of evening traffic drifted in through the open windows.

After the verdicts were read, Mr. Middleton, who faces a robbery charge in another incident, slumped into his seat and bent his head forward onto the back of his lawyer's chair. Mr. Kornegay, who is already serving 25 years to life on a previous murder conviction, sat down and rested his face on his hands. And Mr. King, a senior at a Manhattan trade school at the time of his arrest, stood with his head drooping at one point. Before his arrest in this case, he had no criminal record.

Key evidence in the case was a videotaped confession by Mr. Middleton that he fired a 9-millimeter pistol at Mrs. Greene's head as she lay on the floor of the car service office after she was shot with a sawed-off shotgun by Mr. Waddel Winston, 27. Mr. Winston is to be tried in the murder later.

But on the witness stand, Mr. Middleton recanted his confession, saying he had been coerced by detectives to make the videotape. The jury apparently rejected that testimony. Jurors Express Relief

The jurors declined to comment on their deliberations or to say whether they felt any fear as a result of their verdict. A few said they were relieved the case was over.

As relatives left the courtroom, one yelled at the prosecutor, Assistant Queens District Attorney James Quinn: ''You happy now? You happy?''

Mr. Quinn, who had argued in closing statements that the murder of Mrs. Greene was also an attack on the criminal justice system and ''civilization,'' said as he left the courtroom, ''I hope she can rest in peace.''

He called the verdict a ''message to those who would intimidate witnesses.'' Defense Plans to Appeal

The defense lawyers said they would appeal after sentencing on Aug. 17.

''There are appealable issues,'' said Jenny Maiolo, Mr. Middleton's lawyer.

Mr. King's lawyer, George Sheinberg, said: ''Paul King is going to appeal. They didn't have enough evidence to show he was acting in concert with the other defendants. They didn't even have enough evidence to show he did anything. At its worst, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time talking.''

Mr. Kornegay's attorney, Russell C. Morea, said, ''I find it hard to believe that the jury was able to reconcile Rose Jefferson's statements with the truth.''

Rose Jefferson, 17, a key prosecution witness who said she was hired by Mr. Kornegay to keep records of drug transactions in a crack house, testified that she overheard the defendants making plans to kill Mrs. Greene. Mrs. Greene Seen Testifying

Ms. Jefferson testified that at a meeting in the house, at 111-40 155th Street, Mr. Kornegay ordered the murder of Mrs. Greene because he thought she had testified against him before a grand jury investigating an earlier shooting outside the Big D Royal Car Service, at 150-01 Linden Boulevard.

Mr. Kornegay faces charges of attempted murder in the shootout at the cab stand, which arose out of a dispute over a fare.

Mr. Kornegay's lawyer saw Mrs. Greene on the witness stand on Oct. 1 as he walked from holding pens nearby.

Ms. Jefferson said that at the Oct. 2 meeting, Mr. Winston suggested they go to the cab stand and shoot anybody who was there in the head. Mr. King protested that Mr. Winston's plan was unworkable and suggested they wait for Mrs. Greene to get into a cab after work and shoot her and the driver, Ms. Jefferson said. Mr. Kornegay chose Mr. Winston's plan, she said.

Mr. Quinn showed the jurors color photos of Mrs. Green in slacks and a blouse lying in her own blood, a light-blue ballpoint pen still in her hand.

Mrs. Greene had worked at the cab stand for 15 years, lived alone and spent her spare time playing bingo.

Tommy Mulderrig, a detective investigator for the Queens District Attorney, said after the verdicts: ''Her significance was that she was insignificant, an ordinary citizen who did her duty and answered a grand jury subpoena. When she died, did she get a dinner? An inspector's funeral? A boulevard named after her? Nah. Her significance was in her death. And she was buried for $2,500 from the State Crime Victims Compensation Board.''