A longtime New York City prosecutor and judge who presided over the arraignment of the notorious “Son of Sam” killer has died.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown died Friday at the age of 86. His death was announced Saturday by Chief Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan.
Brown was first appointed district attorney in 1991 by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Democrat. He was re-elected to six terms in office but announced in January that he would not seek re-election this year.
Brown was a judge for 18 years before serving as a prosecutor and was still known as “Judge Brown.”
He was on the bench for the 1977 arraignment of “Son of Sam” serial killer David Berkowitz. Brown ordered Berkowitz to undergo psychiatric testing and maximum security confinement.
