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Man pleads guilty in 2006 Hillcrest stabbing

By Alex Christodoulides

Emmanuel Polanco, 22, had been an on-and-off guest of Hillcrest residents David Higgins, 19, and Higgins' mother, Verne Culberson, 56. He was no longer living with them on the afternoon of Oct. 30, 2006, when Polanco went to their 162nd Street house to burglarize it, but Higgins caught him in the act. Before he was taken to the hospital, Higgins allegedly named his attacker to rescue workers. Police said they caught Polanco soon afterward by tracing the location of his computer from his instant messenger chats and electronically eavesdropping on his online conversations in which he allegedly alluded to the attack.Polanco admitted in court that he repeatedly stabbed Higgins in the abdomen, back and face when the teen returned home and surprised him during the burglary attempt, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. When Culberson returned home from work at about 5:30 that afternoon, Polanco hit her in the head with a baseball bat, an injury that required 15 staples to close, the DA said.”The defendant's actions were brutal and troubling in that the victims opened their home to him and he repaid them for their generosity by stealing their property, destroying their family and robbing a young man of his life,” Brown said. “The crime is one more shocking example of mindless violence that takes innocent lives and recklessly endangers public safety.”Polanco pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter and assault before Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman. The judge indicated that he would sentence Polanco Feb. 7 to 25 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and five years on the assault charges, which are to run consecutively, the DA said.Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.