Reginald Bell is seen leaving Stapleton Criminal Court for Rikers Island following his arrest in 2008.Reginald Bell, however, beat a more serious second-degree murder charge stemming from the Nov. 28, 2008, stabbing death of Graniteville resident Michael Helferty.
Bell's attorney, Mark J. Fonte, contended that Bell didn't intend to kill Helferty.
Ironically, Bell, 49, had been hailed as a Good Samaritan five months before the incident when he chased off two pit bulls that were savaging his 90-year-old neighbor.
Bell, who has an unrelated prior burglary conviction, faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced Jan. 4. for first-degree manslaughter.
"I am very happy that my client was found not guilty of the intentional murder charge," Fonte said outside state Supreme Court, St. George. "The jury obviously did not believe the proof presented by the prosecution."
Fonte said Bell, who did not testify during the trial, is weighing an appeal.
District Attorney Daniel Donovan said Bell faces a stiff sentence and he hopes that prospect brings some measure of solace to the victim's family and loved ones.
"When presented with the evidence, the jury concluded that Reginald Bell did, in fact, plunge a knife deep into Michael Helferty's heart after the two had a heated argument outside Bell's Port Richmond home three years ago," Donovan said in a statement. "While we firmly believe the defendant did so with the sole aim of killing Helferty, the jury obviously had some reasonable doubt about the defendant's intentions, and thus convicted him of first-degree manslaughter. We respect that decision."
Assistant District Attorneys Jonathan Fogel and Paul A. Capofari prosecuted the case.
According to Fonte, the fatal chain of events was set in motion on Thanksgiving Day 2008.
Bell and a woman were drinking at the woman's home before heading down to the block to the defendant's John Street residence later that night.
Early the next morning, Helferty, the woman's daughter and another man arrived at Bell's apartment to take the woman home, Fonte said. They began arguing with Bell and the dispute spilled onto the street.
Prosecutors contend Bell returned to his apartment to fetch a knife with a "T"-type handle. He went back outside and plunged the blade into Helferty's chest, they said.
Fonte said Bell testified before a grand jury that he had the weapon in his possession to defend himself against Helferty and his two friends when he first went onto the street.
The defendant maintained that Helferty approached him and he began backpedaling. The victim lunged at him, and Bell said he extended his hands to protect himself. Helferty impaled himself on the blade, Bell contended.
Prosecutors said Bell wiped the blood off the blade and stowed the knife in his attic.
He went on the lam and was captured three days later in Baltimore.
Five months earlier, Bell had been lauded for rushing to help 90-year-old Henry Piotrowski, who was being mauled by two pit bulls in his backyard on July 1, 2008. Bell called 911, then ran the animals off with a kitchen knife. Piotrowski died of his wounds the next month.
He got 20 years.
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