15148: Hermantin- Sun-Sentinel- Slain Detectives Remembered Fondly (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Slain Detectives Remembered Fondly

By Stephanie Saul
Staff Writer
Posted March 12 2003, 10:57 PM EST

As their stunned families grieved Wednesday, friends and colleagues
described slain detectives Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin as loyal
fathers, helpful neighbors, and truly devoted cops who had trained together,
worked together, and died together.

Both had the brains and the bravado to pull off dangerous undercover
operations. And both relished their mission -- ridding the streets of
dangerous weapons. It had been their assignment since November when together
they joined an elite firearms investigation squad.

On Monday, the two were left dead on a Staten Island street, shot in the
head while probing illegal gun sales. The police released their names
Wednesday .

"These are two very well-known under covers," said Det. Thomas Scotto of the
Detectives' Endowment Association. "They came up through the academy
together. They were very well respected in the unit."

Scotto said his group would start a scholarship fund for the five children
left behind. Andrews, 34, left two sons, ages 11 and 12. Nemorin, 36, left
two sons, ages 7 and 5, and a 20-month-old daughter. Donations may be sent
to the DEA Widows and Childrens' Fund, 26 Thomas St., New York, NY 10007.

Nemorin's funeral will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Lady of Refuge Church,
Brooklyn. Visiting will be 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Friday at Andrew
Torregrossa and Sons Funeral Home, Brooklyn.

Andrews' funeral will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Elim International Fellowship,
Brooklyn. Visiting will be 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Sunday and Monday at Hess
Miller Funeral Home, Middle Village.

At Nemorin's home in Baldwin Harbor Wednesday , relatives gathered from
across the country and from Haiti, Nemorin's birthplace. Cops called him the
"Haitian Prince" and the "Haitian Sensation" for his meticulous wardrobe.

Neighbors in South Ozone Park, where the family lived until last year,
remembered a great guy who jumped to help. Florence Haas recalled the day
she chugged into her driveway lopsided, her car crippled by a flat tire. "He
came right over, opened the trunk, and changed my tire," she said. "That's
the kind of guy he was."

And on Sunday, the day before he died, Nemorin was out helping a Baldwin
Harbor neighbor with his car, said Alejondro Brown, another neighbor.

With his wife, Rose, a teacher, Nemorin moved from Brooklyn to Queens in
1997, buying a fixer- upper from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development and quickly repairing its crumbling brick facade. He was excited
last year when the family purchased a split-level in Baldwin Harbor.

"Every weekend, it was Home Depot back and forth," said Brown, recalling how
Nemorin stripped the carpets, installed hardwood floors and added molding in
the den. Nemorin asked neighbors for advice on lawn care, which he hadn't
had to worry about in the city.

Last month, the family enjoyed another rite of Long Island life: They took
their three kids to Disney World.

Det. Rodney Andrews grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side, raised by an
aunt. He joined the NYPD seven years ago after a stint in the Navy.

While in service, Andrews fell 30 feet in an accident, severely injuring
himself, said a brother-in-law, who asked not to be identified. But Jay, as
Andrews was called, rehabilitated himself at the gym.

Andrews had recently moved to a Middle Village apartment after a divorce
from his police officer wife, MaryAnn. But he was frequently seen in his
former Bushwick neighborhood playing with his two sons.

"He took care of his kids," said neighbor, Richie Diaz, who lives across the
street. "He'd take them to the park and play football with them."

Staff writers Samuel Bruchey, Sean Gardiner, Joshua Robin, Melanie Lefkowitz
and Keiko Morris contributed to this story.




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