PROVIDENCE, R.I.-
A man convicted of killing a Providence detective inside a police station with the officer’s own gun was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
“Civilized society needs to be protected from the likes of Esteban Carpio,” Superior Court Judge Robert Krause said in imposing the maximum under state law.
Carpio, 28, was found guilty in June in the 2005 killing of Detective Sgt. James Allen, who was shot twice at close range in a struggle that broke out while Carpio was being questioned about the stabbing of an 85-year-old woman. Carpio escaped out a third-floor window but was captured about an hour later.
A jury rejected his insanity defense.
“I am truly, honestly, sincerely sorry. Please forgive me,” Carpio said in asking the judge for mercy.
Allen, 50, was a veteran police officer and married father of two teenage daughters.
Prosecutor Paul Daly had asked for the maximum sentence, saying Carpio’s adulthood had been consumed with crime.
“There is no simply no reason to believe that this leopard will ever change its spots,” Daly said.
Carpio was given a second consecutive life sentence for firing a gun during the commission of a violent crime and was sentenced to 20 years for the stabbing.
