in an ironic twist, we this couple also has a child, a little boy the exact same age as sheyla. her mom broke her silence today. a soft spoken woman whose words cut like a razor. >> i want him to pay for what he did. i want justice to be done for what happened. >> reporter: a mother's heartbreak, caused by fabian rodriguez who sat next to his wife, joanna rosas-alvarez. the suspects listened through a translator as the prosecutors describe what role the pair played in the horrific hit-and-run that killed 7-year-old sheyla pichardo as she walked to school with her mom. rodriguez's attorney portrayed him as a family man who cooperated with police. that story line got quickly shot down. >> the claim that her client

absolutely one of the most ludicrous contentions i've heard. anything he said to the police before his alibi exploded in his face was merely nothing more than an attempt to perpetuate the lie. >> reporter: authorities maintain rodriguez, who was driving without a license, struck the pair as they crossed the street in west new york. police say video shows rodriguez then briefly stopped, got out of his suv, but then took off. >> we know somebody got out of the vehicle and we know that they left the scene of the accident. as far as whether it was mr. rodriguez, at this point, at this stage in the game, i can't tell you unequivocally that that was him. >> reporter: once he got home to newark, police say she helped her husband cover up the cold blooded crime. told police her suv had been stolen. police found the vehicle parked right outside the couple's home. today we learned ironically the

same age, 7, as little sheyla. >> by no means is she looking to walk away from this. in a matter of minutes her whole world got turned upside down. >> many worlds turned upside down. rodriguez was charged with among other things leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a fatality. he's being held on $250,000 bail. his wife's bail, much lower, at just $7500. for now we're live in jersey city, kemberly richardson, channel 7 eyewitness news. following breaking news in brooklyn. another hit-and-run. this time the victim, a 70-year-old man on a scooter. he was hit by a car in bensonhurst. the driver took off. a live picture from the scene in bensonhurst. the victim in critical condition at lutheran medical center. all we know really about this car is that it was a white sedan. we're going to turn now to the weather and the high winds and wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour tonight.

pelham in westchester county. knocked downpour lines. thankfully no one was hurt. all this wind will be followed by much colder temperatures and possibly snow. meteorologist lee goldberg at the weather wall tracking it all. >> march is infamous for its big winds and big temperature swings. we started out before dawn with a feels -like reading in the mid 60s. now 29. it's a gorgeous sunset but feels tough out there. wind is gusting over 25 miles per hour. so our numbers here, which are right around freezing, will evening hours. 9, monticello. and 29 in belmar. the peak wind gusts were over 40 miles per hour. they're definitely coming down but it's gradual during the evening hours. we'll continue to see the winds diminish slowly overnight and temperatures dropping down in to teens. clear skies for now but we turn our attention to a storm out in the middle of the country. this one is going ahead to the

south and east thursday night and friday, close enough that we have an area of snowfall that will impact especially the friday morning commute. we'll have the snowfall map, a look in to the weekend and a big warmup down the road. all ahead in accuweather in just a few minutes. the nypd tonight cracking down on crime on the subway. crimes underground on the rise this year. now the police department adding more cops and upgrading technology to try to make the subways safer. tim fleischer is in downtown brooklyn for us. >> nypd and city officials rolled out more initiatives today to bolster their claim that the city subway system is one of the safest in the world. some of it you're going to see. some of it you won't. >> reporter: for the 6 and a half million riders who take the subways every day, it's not about filling the trains with officers. >> there's not a need to put a cop on every train. >> reporter: commissioner william bratton believes new police initiatives can make a significant difference. for one, what had been a problem

used by police. experiencing dead spots. officers not able to respond to calls from other officers. reprogramming they say will make that a thing of the past. >> the ability for street level cops and their counterparts underground to properly communicate with each other. we'll get our resources to incidents faster and keep people safer. >> another effort riders will be seeing are train inspections. with a police sergeant and officers who will spread out along a platform. >> officer goes in a separate car, looks at everybody, makes sure everybody's okay. sees what's in there and comes back out. substantially increase those. >> reporter: they will also add strategic response team surges at various stations and 60 additional officers will be deployed at the times square station, an important and one of the busiest. >> we're bringing the number up substantiallyment we're in the process of recruiting and identifying officers to make that a permanent command.

with the mta on cell phone reception. >> all the smart phones will also be able to work underground. >> reporter: overall mayor de blasio stresses -- >> we're not going back. in fact, the challenge i said today, first and foremost is the theft of property, and we take that seriously too, but nowhere near what we used to see in terms of violence. >> when he was chief of transit in 1990, there were fewer passengers but 7 times the amount of crime that we see today. tim fleischer, channel 7 eyewitness news. the shooting death of a pro baseball prospect in westchester county tonight has led to the indictment of four people. among those arrested this morning, a 17-year-old charged with second degree murder. mike nolan was shot three times last september while standing in the parking lot of a burger king in yonkers. police say the shooting was

the arrests are little comfort tonight for nolan's parents. >> they took my son for no reason whatsoever. they took my son. >> it was my best friend, my buddy, my son. >> 17-year-old nashaun hunter is accused of being the triggerman. the alleged driver and two passengers in the car are charged with assault. now to vote 2016. not withstanding some tsunami of a political element it will democrat and republican candidates in the fall. and ben carson isn't one of them. he's on the verge apparently of the big winners last night, hillary clinton and donald trump. first republican primary, trump won seven states. ted cruz won three. his home state of texas. and the neighboring oklahoma and then alaska. marco rubio won one state, minnesota. as for the democrats, clinton

bernie sanders won four, his home state of vermont. mrs. clinton right now at a rally at the javits center in manhattan. let's listen in briefly. >> prekindergarten for all the children in new york city. thanks to tish james. it is so great you are all with us today. i also want to think my friends from the new york black, puerto rican, hispanic and asian caucus. i was so grateful to earn the endorsement of 46 of your members yesterday. and we have a lot of work to do which is why i thought it would be a great idea for everybody to get together. we set this event for the day after super tuesday and boy, am

yesterday was one for the history books. our campaign went nationwide. people in every corner of the country came out to support the future we're building together and we could not have done it without labor. we won union households from iowa all through the states that voted yesterday. and i know that we had had union members going door to door in texas, home care workers making calls in to massachusetts, teachers helping to turn out voters in alabama, and so much more. so first and foremost, i thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you did to give us those great victories we had yesterday. i think a lot about the fact

factory worker who operated a loom in the scranton lace works in scranton, pennsylvania. and the daughter of a father who ran his own fabric printing shop. and a mother who had to work to put herself through high school as a maid. they made sacrifices for me. and i will never forget that. so my respect for hardworking men and women runs deep. and i've always believed that when unions are strong, families are strong and america is strong. >> that is hillary clinton speaking at a rally, the jav javits center. --speaking at a rally, the javits center. there's growing criticism on chris christie. social media is blowing up with imagine quotes to go with

he stood behind trump during his news conference last night. a poll shows christie's approval rating has dropped 27%. in other words, a 73% negative rating and that's down 6% from before he endorsed donald trump. >> such drama in this presidential campaign. as we continue with eyewitness news at 6:00, an emotional day in court. a new york cop comes face to face with the man who shot him and nearly killed him. we hear from both men next.

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in 55 years to life in prison. that sentence tonight for a man in queens convicted of trying to murder a new york city police officer. >> an unusual twist to the story. when he was led away, the cop that was shot got the chance to confront his would-be killer and his words, powerful and filled with anger. >> reporter: nypd sergeant craig beard did today what very few police officers ever survive to be able to do. he confronted his would-be killer in a courtroom and demanded the maximum sentence. >> he could have gotten away. had the lead on me. you were a quick dustance -- distance from your home. and what did you do?

you're an idiot, you made a bad decision. in closing, your honor, i'd like to ask for the maximum penalty dropped on his head. >> reporter: 28-year-old john thomas was arrested in 2012. charged with attempted murder after he was cornered in an alleyway and opened fire on sergeant beard. the sergeant had been chasing thomas and was struck in both legs. thomas was convicted last year but insists he was framed with his own dna. time. overturned. this will be just another one. >> reporter: it's an allegation that infuriated the judge. >> your intent was to kill him. who are you to take a gun and police officer? this is a severe sentence you're going to get. i don't think you'll ever step

>> reporter: and with that, thomas flashed a grin as the judge sentenced him to life in prison. 55 years to life in prison to be precise. recognizing the fact that if thomas had had been a better marksman, sergeant wouldn't be alive today. >> wow, traumatic moments there. still to come, lee returns and says we're in for colder temperatures and we could see a little snow by the end of the week.

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you okay there? you choking on your mint? >> it's only because i want fresh breath when i come for weather. >> forget about the choking. get to the weather. [ laughter ] >> you know how it just hits

>> i'm good. beautiful sunset here at 5:49. very pretty but awful chilly out temperatures 37 degrees. northwest wind 13. gusting to about 26. the barometer is on the rise. 55 before 5:00 in the morning. that was our warm spot. upside down day as we drop from the 30s to the 40s. a little over 10th an inch of rainfall early. gusty winds and sideways rain quickly. wind chills in the teens tonight. there's some snow late tomorrow night in to friday. morning commute. near normal as we go through the in the 40s. next week. the rain or snow shower activity on sunday morning looks like it's going to be very minor. if we can get the sun out early, maybe we have a shot at 50 degrees. we'll have a big warmup in to early next week. cold now, below freezing in places lie newburg. 36 in yonkers.

in middle 30s. same thing jersey shore and 38 in west orange, new jersey. wind chills currently in the teens. we'll drop in to the teens and 20s during the evening hours. mainly clear skies. wind gusts still over 30 early. gradually diminishing. i think by morning, 7 to 14-mile-per-hour wind. when you're at 27, feels like upper teens to around 20. hours. skies are really clearing out right now. the clouds coming down one of the great lakes starting to wither away. low pressure moving away. winds will get lighter. we look to this area here. two pieces will join forces for a friday snowfall. we start tomorrow with clear sky and cold conditions. clouds increase tomorrow night. some snow showers toward midnight. then snow steadier south and east but periods of snow in to the morning commute with temperatures below freezing at that point. a slick start to the day on friday. temperatures climb to near freezing or above during the day. even if it's snowing, probably

a little concern this snow is going to linger along the coast. that's why i have the bigger totals 1 to 3 inches. also parts of northern new jersey and higher elevations. about a coating to an inch off to the north. a nuisance storm. gusty evening then some less wind late. and wind chills are in the teens. 26 for tomorrow. 38 degrees. not as windy. sun gives way to clouds in the afternoon. tomorrow night down to 30 with the snow developing late. a slippery friday morning. snow lingers in to the early afternoon then stops. 43, saturday. rain and snow showers sunday morning. 47. off to the races monday. near 70 on wednesday. >> very nice.

some people having dinner, rob powers having sports. >> today yankee closer aroldis chapman with a 30-day suspension. that's the blow dealt yesterday for violations of the game's domestic violence policy. chapman reiterated he did not harm his girlfriend but realizes he did show poor judgment. baseball's hardest thrower misses a month of the regular forward. >> happy there's a resolution to it. we look forward to finishing our spring training. glad it resolved the way it did. >> i think he ready to move on. he wants to be better as a player and a person. >> exhibition game number one for the yankees in tampa against

walked a couple guys, then watched brian holliday. starlin castro, a couple hits. yanks are up 8-7 but tigers do get another home run in the top of the 9th inning. they regain the lead and again the yankees come back. it's 9-9, bottom of the 9th. two outs. a man on base. dustin fowler lifts a flyball but with all that sun and wind, winning run scores 10-9 yanks win. what a way to start things off. mets had another workout day today. they open their spring schedule tomorrow on the road against the nationals. curtis granderson won't make that trip. he has pinkeye. knicks star carmelo anthony getting frustrated as teams lost 15 of its last 18 games. lost to the blazers at home by 18. anthony heard from a paying customer in the crowd after the laws.

gather myself and i turned around and all i did was pointed to him and said look, the owner is right there. ask for your money back. >> probably not a good move there. the major league soccer season opens this weekend for the red bulls. a media day today. won the supporters shield last season. best team in the regular season only to get bounced by columbus in the playoffs. they've been pegged as teams on the move in the east. red bulls pretty much intact and ready to take that next step this season. >> great group of guys and we added some key players. i think there's a lot of optimism to be spread out. >> we hope we can integrate the new guys and make sure they're ready to contribute and give us a lot. i think from all aspects everyone is excited to start the season. tiger woods says despite what you might have heard lately, he's in good shape. still recovering from back

hitting nine irons, needs to get back healthy and on tour. >> i know i'm progressing. i'm getting better. i'm getting stronger. and i have to just take it day by day. >> part of his rehab right now, playing with the kids. >> that's a good rehab. could be weeks, could be months. let's take a look at some of the stories we're working on for eyewitness news at 11:00. >> tonight at 11:00, new help coming to nypd officers. we'll tell you what some radios will now be able to do which some say could help save lives. also a wild scene in a gun store when armed men break in. more on what the high-powered weapons they got away with and where police are searching for them right now. we'll have those stores and much more tonight at 11:00. >> that's it for us for now. thanks for watching. i'm bill ritter. >> and i'm liz cho. world news is coming up next.

breaking news tonight. is one of the candidates about to drop out? after donald trump's string of victories, tonight, trump's promise. >> i'm a unifier. i know people are going to find that a little bit hard to believe. >> ted cruz and marco rubio taking aim. but is it even possible other republican candidate to get the delegates they need? tonight here, we do the math. and the smile's gone. draekt hit. the tornadoes touching down. tonight, we're on the scene. homes destroyed. and the new system bringing snow and bitter cold. it is moving east. breaking news. armed and dangerous. and the reworld at this hour. nearly a dozen men making off with several ar-15-style rifles. that manhunt, right now. the zika outbreak. tonight, the new headline. in the northeast, as the number of cases here in the u.s. now grows.