Judge overturns Manhattan murder conviction after 26 years

A man who spent nearly a quarter century in prison for the murder of a retired police officer was cleared Monday thanks to updates to DNA forensics technology, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced.

Prosecutors succeeded on Sept. 30 in overturning the conviction of Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, who served 23 years behind bars for the fatal 1998 shooting of retired Detective Albert Ward – a crime that Velazquez had always maintained was that he had not committed it.

New York Judge Abraham Clott granted the prosecution's request to overturn the verdict and dismiss the charges based on “newly discovered” DNA evidence.

“Who am I? I am a very happy man. I’m lucky that so many people believed in me,” Velazquez said in an article on ABC 7.

What happened during the crime?

Velazquez was charged in 1998 after two people committed a robbery at a gaming parlor on Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem. During the chaos, Ward, 59, a retired police officer, pulled out a gun to stop the robbery. A fight ensued with one of the armed robbers, who identified himself as “Tee.”

According to the DA's office, “Tee” shot Ward during the fight.

The DA's office said eyewitnesses provided “inconsistent” descriptions of Velazquez at the time of the robbery, identifying him at the scene.

Velazquez, who maintained his innocence throughout his 23 years in prison, tried to overturn his conviction in 2014 and 2018, but both requests were rejected by the court.

Fast forward to August 2021, when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted Velazquez clemency in his final days in office before his sudden resignation. Although Velazquez became a free man, the courts upheld his conviction – even though his DNA was not found at the crime scene.

But Judge Clott's move Monday to overturn the conviction clears Velazquez's record, at least for that crime. The verdict and murder charge were dismissed and will be sealed in 30 days.

It is unclear whether Velazquez, who was 22 at the time of Ward's murder, committed additional crimes. amNewYork Metro contacted Velazquez's attorney but received no response.

There is no evidence to point to another suspect, the DA's office said, so Ward's actual killer is still at large 26 years later. It is not clear whether other perpetrators in the 1998 robbery were ever convicted.

Bragg founded the Post-Conviction Justice Unit (PCJU) in 2022 to review closed cases. He opened a new investigation into the Velazquez case. This included the chief medical examiner's office comparing the defendant's DNA to a betting slip that “Tee” had processed before he shot Ward.

The tests revealed that Velazquez's DNA was excluded or not found from a mix of DNA on the betting slip handled by the shooter. This type of DNA comparison was not available at the time of Velazquez's trial, Bragg's office said.

The re-investigation found that the results of the DNA testing may have influenced the jury's consideration of other evidence, including Velazquez's alibi, the fact that no evidence linked him to the crime and that eyewitnesses provided inconsistent descriptions, explained the prosecutor's office.

“JJ Velazquez has lived in the shadow of his convictions for more than 25 years, and I hope today begins a new chapter for him,” Bragg said. “I am grateful to our Post-Conviction Justice Unit for their commitment to impartially uncovering the facts and evidence in this case.