Suffolk DA: Ex-cop charged in wife's shooting was enraged

Darryl Fowler, a retired city police officer charged with shooting his estranged wife five times, was enraged over losing a job he had gotten to be near her, a Suffolk prosecutor said Wednesday.

Fowler, 43, was arraigned in a Riverhead court on a grand jury indictment charging him with attempted murder, burglary, assault and other charges.

His wife, Michelle, 46, survived the Oct. 20 shooting and was hospitalized at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Assistant District Attorney Todd Pettigrew said Fowler "stealthily" gained entrance to the Middle Island home the couple once shared and shot his wife five times in her bedroom.

Fowler had applied for a job with his wife's employer, but wasn't allowed to work there after the employer learned there was an April order of protection barring him from being near his wife, Pettigrew said.

Pettigrew said that was the "catalyst" for the shooting.

The victim, Pettigrew said, "is lucky to be alive" but is "a long way from recovery."

After the shooting, Fowler drove away and crashed into an ambulance that was heading to his wife's aid, Pettigrew said.

Fowler told detectives he "was on autopilot" when he shot her, Pettigrew said.

Defense attorney Frank Doddato of Garden City said Fowler worked for the New York Police Department from 1992 to 1998.

"He happens to be a terribly nice guy from a terribly nice family," Doddato said.