Newsday

A day after his twin half brothers, Darrell and Darian Taylor, exploded in court after being convicted of the same charge, Christopher Robinson, 26, showed little emotion after hearing his verdict, which was rendered by a separate jury.

Although Robinson was the only one of the three to admit to striking Richard Berkhout, 47, on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, he was also the only one found not guilty of first-degree assault.

All three were acquitted of the lesser charge of third-degree assault, related to injuring Berkhout's wife, Maureen. Nonetheless, all three face a maximum of 25 years in prison when Justice Robert W. Doyle sentences them in State Supreme Court on Jan. 8.

Prosecutors said the Berkhouts were walking near their home after attending 9/11 memorial ceremonies earlier that day. The three brothers sped by them in a car and Richard Berkhout yelled to them to slow down, prosecutors said.

The brothers pulled over and attacked Berkhout, punching and stomping him, and hitting him in the face with a metal object, prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys said they faced an uphill battle defending three men charged with attacking the most sympathetic of victims - a 9/11 FDNY firefighter on the anniversary of the attacks.

But Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro said those circumstances were not a factor in the jury's verdict.

"It happened on September 11 because that's the day these defendants chose to attack these people," said Tomaro.

Robinson's attorney, Robert Del Col of Huntington, said he concedes his client is guilty of a lesser count of assault, but said the case was "over-charged."