Guilty verdict for pair in Liczbinski murder case

PHILADELPHIA - July 28, 2010

The verdict, handed down Wednesday, has set the stage for the penalty phase of the trial, in which a judge will determine if Floyd and Warner should be put to death by lethal injection or sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole.

Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes said the next phase of the trial will likely not begin until next week due to scheduling conflicts with several expert witnesses and defense lawyers who wish to testify.

Investigators say Ofc. Liczbinski was pursuing Floyd, Warner and a third man, Howard Cain, following a May 2008 bank robbery.

When the suspects couldn't shake Liczbinski, authorities say they stopped and Cain fired on Liczbinski, killing him.

The alleged shooter and mastermind of the crime, Howard Cain, was killed by police as the robbers fled.

Neither 35-year-old Eric Floyd nor 41-year-old Levon Warner fired the shots that killed 39-year-old Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, but prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.

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