Applause broke out in a New York courtroom Monday after a judge vacated the conviction and dismissed the case of Jon-Adrian Velasquez , who spent more than 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
“With the consent of the People I am granting the petition to set aside the verdict on the grounds of newly discovered evidence,” Judge Abraham Clott said.
“27 years!” his mother wailed.
On January 27, 1998, two individuals committed a robbery of a gambling parlor on Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem. During the robbery Albert Ward, a retired police detective, pulled a gun and a struggle ensued with one of the armed robbers, who identified himself as “Tee.” Ward was eventually shot and killed by “Tee.”
Velazquez was 22 at the time.
In 2022, Velazquez’s DNA was compared to a betting slip that “Tee” handled before shooting Ward. The testing found that Velazquez’s DNA was not found. This type of DNA comparison was not available at the time of Velazquez’s trial.
The reinvestigation found that the results of the DNA testing could have impacted the jury’s consideration of other trial evidence, including Velazquez’s alibi, the fact that no evidence connected him to the crime, and that the eyewitnesses provided inconsistent descriptions.