Ex-Summerville cop accused of murder in Chick-fil-A shooting will remain in jail (2024)

MONCKS CORNER — Former Summerville police officer Anthony DeLustro — who has gone from prosecuting America's drug war in the streets of the Brooklyn borough of New York City to facing a murder charge in South Carolina — will remain in jail.

After nearly five weeks, 9th Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson denied DeLustro's bid for pretrial freedom— for now. In her order filed Aug. 8, Jefferson appeared to side with 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson that DeLustro represented a danger to the community.

DeLustro, 65, is charged with murder and attempted kidnapping in the March 20 death of Michael O’Neal, a North Carolina man visiting Summerville for job training. DeLustro shot and killed O'Neal during peak lunch hour outside of the Summerville Chick-fil-A on North Main Street following a fight between the two men.

Joseph Cannarella, DeLustro's attorney, said in a statement Aug. 8 that courts weigh criminal history, risk of flight from the community, their danger to the community and health in deciding someone's bond.

"Mr. DeLustro is 65 years old, has a decorated law enforcement career, lacks a criminal history, is a prior cancer patient with lingering issues from his 9/11 service with the NYPD, and still suffers from serious medical injuries resulting from the March 20, 2024, incident," Cannarella said in a statement.

The judge's decision did not make mention of findings from an in-depth report from a forensic psychologist that Cannarella said showed his client was low risk to the community.

"This report addressed the State’s concerns about risk, found that Mr. DeLustro is a low risk and can be safely managed in the community, and recommended certain conditions for him to abide by if released on bond. These findings and recommendations were noted during the hearing, and the State conceded that Mr. DeLustro was not a flight risk," Cannarella said.

Wilson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During a July 15 bond hearing,Cannarella offered the first public defense of the former officer since the shooting. He said O'Neal approached the DeLustro family enraged, accusing them of damaging his vehicle. The verbal encounter turned physical when the two men exited their cars, he said. Cannarella said O'Neal pushed first and dazed DeLustro when he fell to the ground and hit his head.

Wilson countered that videos and witnesses showed O'Neal exhibiting restraint until DeLustro kicked the North Carolina man in the groin three times. She described the officer's behavior as "unhinged." She told Jefferson during the bond hearing that one witness, a bouncer, restrained DeLustro before he shot O'Neal, telling the off-duty officer “If you’re a cop, act like a cop."

“What (witnesses) saw was a man unhinged, and that was not Michael O’Neal,” Wilson said.

Wilson noted that one prior law enforcement agency said he had a "noticeable temper." She also expressed concerns about the officer's mental health.

Cannarella said DeLustro has post-traumatic stress disorder and that it is treated. He has had several mental health evaluations that had cleared him to keep serving as a police officer. DeLustrowas a first responder on and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.Cannarella said DeLustro has a strong community support network around him and that he was not the initiator in the fight with O’Neal.

Jefferson's ruling was disappointing, Cannarella said.

"While this ruling is very disappointing, we are grateful for the tremendous community support Mr. DeLustro received at this hearing and continues to receive. We will evaluate the next appropriate steps, consult with Mr. DeLustro and his family, and respond accordingly," Cannarella said in a statement.

During the hearing, DeLustro's attorney spoke for about 45 minutes. Wilson had about 10 minutes to speak before the court closed for the day. Jefferson was nearly three hours late to the July 15 hearing. The judge had been presiding over a trial in a courtroom elsewhere in the Berkeley County Courthouse.

Jefferson indicated in the hearing she might issue a decision on July 19. She signed the order July 26. It was not filed with the clerk's office until end of business Aug. 8.

DeLustro's bond hearing was a rare courtroom sight. It wasn't just seeing a former police officer in a jail jumpsuit or seeing Wilson personally prosecute one of only a handful cases a year.

Sitting in benches were Catholic clergy and two law enforcement families on each side of the murder case. Cannarella, DeLustro's attorney, is also a former law enforcement agent with the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

DeLustro, in shooting and killing O'Neal, which he and his attorney contend was self-defense, is accused of murder in the fatal shooting of a son of a North Carolina police captain. O'Neal was also the grandson of a police chief.

DeLustro has been held at the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston since April 10.

The Charleston County Sheriff's Office has kept him segregated by himself from the jail's general population in its behavioral management unit because of his status as an ex-officer and the high-profile nature of the case. The same treatment was given to Michael Slager, the former North Charleston officer who shot and killed Walter Scott in 2015.

DeLustro will remain by himself in the jail until the trial or a judge reconsiders his bond.