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Suspects in Wendy's shootings arraigned

Suspects Craig Godineaux (left) and John Taylor appear at their arraignment on Sunday. They are accused of killing five employees at a Wendy's restaurant in Queens, New York

May 29, 2000
Web posted at: 1:00 p.m. EST (1700 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two men accused of killing five employees of a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in Queens were arraigned Sunday on felony murder, robbery and weapons charges, the Queen's District Attorney's office said.

John Taylor, 36, and Craig Godineaux, 30, were charged with multiple counts of first- and second-degree murder, attempted murder, first-degree robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon.

The two men were denied bail because they are considered a flight risk, according to the district attorney's office. The suspects were not required to enter a plea at the arraignment.

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Taylor has been placed under a suicide watch, officials said.

If Taylor and Godineaux are indicted by a grand jury, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown reportedly plans to seek the death penalty or life without parole in the case.

Taylor and Godineaux are charged in the execution-style killing of five workers in the
basement of a Wendy's restaurant in the Flushing section of Queens last week. Police said Taylor once worked at the Wendy's where the shootings took place.

Two gunmen reportedly entered the Wendy's around closing time, bound and gagged seven employees and shot them, killing five and wounding two. Thieves took $2,400 from an office in the basement of the restaurant and a security camera videotape from the restaurant.

Police said they found a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a belt pack on Taylor when he was arrested at his mother's house in Long Island, the same caliber as the gun used in the shooting.

A Suffolk County Police spokesman said Saturday that a videotape was seized from Taylor's home at the time he was taken into custody. The police official said the tape contains evidence related to the crime. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said the content of the tape will not be made public because it is considered evidence.

Taylor has been linked to five other fast-food restaurant robberies in Queens since 1996, when he was convicted of robbing a McDonald's.

Last summer, he was arrested in connection with a robbery at another McDonald's and was released on $3,500 bail.

At that time, he rejected a plea bargain with a 12-year sentence and jumped bail.

Wakes for two of the victims were held this weekend.

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