Suspect Charged With Murder in Police Death

A Brooklyn man was arraigned late Sunday night and charged with down a flight of stairs early that morning.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said that George Villanueva, 42, is being held without bail and no plea was entered.

Villanueva was charged with with first-degree murder for the aggravated murder of a police officer, criminal contempt of court and third-degree assault.

On Monday morning, there was a somber scene at the 84th Police Precinct in Downtown Brooklyn. Black and purple bunting, draped over the doorway to commemorate the fallen officer, flapped in the damp wind. Most staff at the precinct refused to talk about the death, but Officer Joe Liu, who says he had worked with Officer Alain Schaberger a couple of times, had kind words to say about his colleague.

“He was a nice guy. A really nice guy.”

Schaberger was among a group of cops responding to a 911 call at early Sunday morning. The call was made at 4:22 a.m. by a woman who said that her boyfriend was threatening to kill her. The woman had a restraining order out against Villaneueva, who had been arrested for domestic violence twice in February. He had also been arrested 28 times before that, mostly for burglary and robbery.

The cops found Villanueva at his own apartment at 45 St. Marks Place. Officer Schaberger attempted to cuff Villanueva at his doorstep when he pushed Schaberger over the knee-high railing at the side of the stoop, cops said. Schaberger fell headfirst nine feet down a cement stairwell, breaking his neck.

Earlier today at 334 Bergen St., where the 911 call originated, a man who said he was Villanueva’s cousin fielded questions from reporters.

“An officer lost his life,” said the man, who would identify himself only as Steven. “I can’t change that around. I wish I could.”

“He’s not a bad kid, man,” Steven said of his cousin. “He was just trying to get his shit together. Trying to do the right thing, finally. He was tired of all doing wrong. Now he wants to live right, and things went backwards.”

Steven said he was in his own apartment across the street from Villanueva’s when Schaberger fell, and did not see the incident. But he said that family members who did witness the struggle, including Villanueva’s parents and the woman who made the 911 call, told him that Villanueva did not push Schaberger.

“When [Schaberger] went to put the handcuffs on him, some pushing and shoving came about, and the officer fell over. It was another officer bumping into other officers,” Steven says.

“You know what this is? A freak accident.”

Schaberger lived with his fiancé Shoshone Peguese in the quiet upstate town of Cortlandt Manor.

Schaberger never sought attention or recognition for his hard work, neighbors said today. Following his tragic death, the community remembers him as a hero.

“Here is he trying to help someone out, a true public servant, a hero, and he lost his life,” Town of Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi said. “It is a tragedy.”

Supervisor Puglisi said she will be lowering the flags in the Town of Cortlandt on the day of his funeral.

Donna Dale lives across the street from Peguese.

“It was scary because we saw all these state troopers show up at [Schaberger’s] house yesterday,” she said.

Dale said that she and her husband found out later in the day that he had died and could not believe the news.

"He obviously worked hard and it is a shame," Dale said. "He was quiet, kept to himself, did a good job and now died in a tragedy."

Liz Giegerich contributed reporting from Cortlandt Manor