Bridgeport man arraigned on federal murder, kidnap charges
Weeks after being indicted by federal authorities for allegedly killing a man and dumping his body in backcountry Greenwich, a Bridgeport man pleaded not guilty to all counts against him during his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Hartford Tuesday morning.
Larry Corbett, 37, of Harral Avenue, was already facing state murder, kidnapping and robbery charges for the January 2008 slaying of Bronx, N.Y., man George McPherson, but was indicted by a federal grand jury in Hartford in January.
Tuesday's short court hearing was the first time Corbett appeared before a federal judge since his indictment. Corbett is being represented by two Hartford-based attorneys from the firm Robinson & Cole.
The federal indictment, which charges Corbett with murder, kidnapping and drug and weapons violations, came months after Corbett's public defender filed a motion in state Superior Court in Stamford arguing that prosecutors did not have jurisdictional grounds to charge Corbett because the killing allegedly took place in New York.
Police discovered McPherson's bullet-ridden body on Sterling Road in Greenwich, but the actual shooting was believed to have occurred in New York City.
During Corbett's court appearance Tuesday, federal prosecutors asked that he remain in prison until after his trial due to the seriousness of the crime. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas P. Smith granted the motion.
Barry Butler, Corbett's Stamford public defender, said in January that he did not believe the state would continue its prosecution in state Superior Court now that the federal government had taken over.
Butler said the federal government does not have the "territorial jurisdictional problem Connecticut has."
State prosecutors have not commented on how the federal charge will impact Corbett's state case, specifically if the state charges will be dropped.
One of Corbett's newly appointed attorneys in the federal case, Craig Raabe, declined to comment on Tuesday's hearing.
According to court records in Stamford, police believe Corbett, who is also known as "China man," was involved in a drug transaction in New York when McPherson was shot and killed. His body was taken in a van and driven to backcountry Greenwich, where it was dumped on a dirt road and later discovered by police following the shooting, according to records.
In his motion to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds, Butler introduced a third party who the attorney claims may have been responsible for fatally shooting McPherson. The motion states that during the drug deal, a third party showed up and demanded money, causing a scuffle between McPherson and Corbett. During a struggle for the gun, Corbett allegedly shot McPherson in the hand accidentally, while the unidentified third party fired two shots into the van and drove away, according to the motion.
Corbett then allegedly jumped into the driver's seat of the van and drove onto the highway until spotting a deserted area in backcountry Greenwich where he pulled McPherson's body out and dumped it on the road, according to the motion.
Greenwich police charged Corbett with murder shortly after discovering the body. His case was on a pending jury trial list prior to the federal indictment.
According to a federal court file, jury selection in Corbett's federal case will begin in late April.
Corbett could face the death penalty on the federal murder charge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.