Pennsylvania Supreme Court upholds death penalty in shooting of Newtown officer

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty for Robert Flor, who in 2005 shot a Bucks County police officer in the abdomen, then stood over him and shot him twice in the head.

Flor, now 43, was sentenced to death for killing Brian Gregg, 46, a Newtown Borough police officer. He also shot a police officer and an emergency medical technician at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township.

The court did vacate Flor's sentence on 10 counts of a lesser offense, ruling that the prison time exceeded the statutory maximum, and sent that part of the case back to the trial court.

The Supreme Court review is automatic for death-penalty cases, and Flor raised 11 issues for appeal. The court rejected all but one.

Flor was sentenced to 20 to 40 years on 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person. There is a two-year maximum for each count, so the total should not have exceeded 20 years, the court ruled.

Flor was arrested for drunken driving Sept. 29, 2005. He was taken to St. Mary to have his blood and urine tested.

His handcuffs were removed for his urine test by Newtown Borough Officer James Warunek. Flor grabbed Warunek's gun and shot the officer in the chest.

Flor then shot Gregg and Joseph Epp, the emergency medical technician. Flor returned to Warunek and pulled the trigger, but the gun had run out of bullets.

Flor fled, but police found him in the hospital's parking garage.

Gregg abandoned a career as a carpenter to be a police officer and was two days shy of his first anniversary with the Police Department when he was killed.