Michael O’Neal (GoFundMe), Anthony DeLustro begs for mercy in court (WCSC/screengrab)
A veteran police officer was placed on leave and charged with murder after the off-duty shooting of a North Carolina cop’s son outside of a Chick-fil-A in South Carolina. Now, the suspect is begging for “mercy” in court.
Ex-Summerville Police Department officer Anthony DeLustro, 64, appeared in court on Wednesday and was denied bond on the same day that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced a warrant for his arrest in the death of 39-year-old Michael O’Neal.
Investigators alleged that DeLustro opened fire during an “altercation” on March 20 in the parking lot of the Summerville, S.C., Chick-fil-A on North Main Street. Both he and O’Neal got out of their cars, exchanged words, and then fought as bystanders looked on.
“A confrontation occurred between ANTHONY DELUSTRO and the victim, Michael O’Neal, where ANTHONY DELUSTRO exited his vehicle and an altercation ensued between the two,” state authorities said. “Eyewitnesses described ANTHONY DELUSTRO as the primary aggressor in the altercation.”
DeLustro allegedly said “come on you f—ing f—-t” after O’Neal said “Do you want to do this?” multiple times.
“Punches and kicks were exchanged,” the warrant said. During the fight, DeLustro allegedly claimed he was arresting O’Neal.
Authorities allege that O’Neal “disengaged” from the fight and tried to leave in his car, but DeLustro threatened to open fire if the victim left the scene — even as the suspect’s wife tried to restrain him.
“ANTHONY DELUSTRO then opened the passenger side door of the Hyundai Genesis and entered the vehicle while armed with his handgun,” the warrant said. “The victim, Michael O’Neal, shouted for ANTHONY DELUSTRO to ‘get out my car.’”
When the victim tried to drive off, DeLustro was “still partially seated in the passenger’s seat.” That’s when the defendant opened fire, SLED said.
Authorities said that DeLustro’s explanations after the shooting did not help his cause. Nor did “eyewitness accounts” of what took place.
“ANTHONY DELUSTRO claimed he used deadly force as the victim drove away because the victim refused to stop his vehicle and ANTHONY DELUSTRO believed he could not get his legs out from beneath the moving vehicle,” the warrant continued. “Eyewitness accounts and video evidence do not corroborate the claims that ANTHONY DELUSTRO made after the indecent that he was in fear for the community’s safety and for his wife’s safety.”
The suspect allegedly “acknowledged” that he didn’t know if O’Neal was armed.
Anthony DeLustro pictured in a mug shot (Berkeley County Detention Center)
When DeLustro appeared in court Wednesday for the bond hearing and begged for “mercy,” he spoke only about himself and his family, WCSC reported. He said that he got cancer from responding to 9/11 and survived.
“I dedicated my life to public service since I was age 21. I was at Ground Zero, got cancer, had my cancer removed. I was… My wife and I lost our handicap daughter in 2021. And she is a little bit not over that yet,” he said. “And we have, we took custody for our two granddaughters ages 13 and 10. We’ve been raising them and sending them to Catholic school and trying to provide a good life for them.”
DeLustro said he’d appreciate “[a]ny mercy” the court would consider giving him, and appealed to his 35 years in law enforcement, whether in Summerville, S.C., or with the New York Police Department.
“My entire life was public service. I never did anything wrong, I never had one substantiated complaint in the 35 years I’ve been in law enforcement, and I just ask you for mercy so I can help my wife with the girls while we go through this,” he said.
Berkeley County Detention Center records reviewed by Law&Crime show that DeLustro was booked Wednesday afternoon. He remains there after being denied bond.
A GoFundMe campaign started by O’Neal’s family members said their loved one’s “untimely and violent death” has left them “devastated.” Family members revealed that the victim’s father was a Winston-Salem, N.C., cop for more than 30 years.
“As of this writing [in late March], there are many unanswered questions, and Michael’s family is respectfully waiting for SLED to perform a thorough investigation, which takes time. Michael’s father was an officer with Winston-Salem police for over 30 years,” the GoFundMe said. “This is a family that has a great deal of respect for law enforcement in general, yet is fully aware that no profession is free of bad actors. We remain optimistic that the SLED detectives will find the truth and bring about justice.”
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