After verdict, Lacey's family maintains he's innocent

The Rev. Richard Lacey brushed off reporters Friday after his son was found guilty of four counts of felony murder.

Outside the courthouse, he paced alone in a parking lot and stopped to stare at the east side of the Nassau County Courthouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son Caleb as sheriff deputies loaded him into a van bound for Nassau County jail.

Eleanor Lacey, Caleb's mother, said the jury might have had the last word Friday, but not the final word on her son. "Jesus has the last say," she said. "It's not over until Jesus says it's over."

Eleanor Lacey said when Caleb Lacey lunged from the defense table after the verdict was read in court, it was an expression of his disappointment. "He knew he didn't do it," she said. "So how much more could he take?"

As for what's next, "It's in God's hands," she said. "And it'll be all right."

The Rev. Lacey and his wife, Eleanor, were fixtures at the trial. Last week, as he awaited the verdict in a slate-gray suit and dark fedora, Richard Lacey predicted his son would be acquitted. Since his son was indicted in May, the reverend had publicly accused Nassau County police of improperly questioning his son.

And in a pre-trial ruling, County Court Judge Jerald Carter ruled that Caleb Lacey's statements to police would not be heard by a jury because the sound quality was so poor. The judge also ruled that prosecutors couldn't question the detective who took Caleb Lacey's statement because Lacey had invoked his Fifth Amendment right to no incriminate himself.

"He didn't do it," Richard Lacey, 65, said of his son as jurors deliberated late last week.

Two things have remained constant since Caleb Lacey was arrested - his father didn't waver in his support for his son, and the Rev. Lacey maintained his disgust with Nassau County police and prosecutors.

As the jury deliberated this week, the reverend called the police conduct "ugly" and accused the prosecution of doing "crooked" things in an attempt to convict his son.

Leon Lacey, Caleb's older brother, continued to maintain his brother's innocence after the guilty verdicts Friday.

"He'll be home soon and the truth will be revealed," Leon Lacey said.