About Ernest Johnson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 25, 2016

 

Attorney Indicted for Stealing Almost $600,000
From the Estate of Deceased New York City Civil Court Judge

Stolen Funds Include Proceeds from Sale of Historic Slave Theater in Bedford-Stuyvesant

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced an indictment charging a Howard Beach attorney with siphoning off approximately $600,000 from an estate that he was hired to represent and using the funds for his personal expenses.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant had a duty to his client but instead allegedly stole nearly $600,000 of the proceeds from the sale of two properties belonging to the estate of Judge Phillips, including the historic Slave Theater. He’s charged with writing himself hundreds of checks until all the money was gone. We will now hold him accountable for these shameful criminal acts.”

The District Attorney said that the defendant, Frank Racano, 54, of Howard Beach, Queens, was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with one count second-degree grand larceny. He was held on $250,000 bail and ordered to return to court on August 10, 2016.

The District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, between February 2013 and May 2015, the defendant stole approximately $587,160.56 from the estate of New York City Civil Court Judge John L. Phillips, Jr., who died unmarried, childless and without a will on February 16, 2008.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on January 16, 2009, Samuel Boykin, a nephew by marriage, successfully petitioned the Kings County Surrogate to be appointed administrator of the estate.

In early 2010, Boykin hired Racano, a licensed attorney, to assist in the sale of the estate’s real estate holdings, which included the Slave Theater, located at 1215-1217 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant and 10 Halsey Street, a vacant lot behind the theater. In 2012, the properties went into contract for a total of $2.2 million and the buyer paid the estate a down payment of $220,000. That check, payable to “Frank Racano, as attorney,” was deposited into the defendant’s attorney trust checking account.

Kings County Surrogate Diana Johnson approved the sale of the properties on December 19, 2012. On February 25, 2013, at the closing for the properties, the buyer’s attorney paid closing expenses and taxes that were owed on the property. The net proceeds of the sale, $517,339.65, were paid to the estate in two checks payable to “Frank Racano, as attorney.”

Racano deposited those two checks into his trust account, thus the total proceeds from the sale of the properties credited to the estate should have been $737,339.65. Between February 2013 and May 2015, Racano paid estate expenditures for tax assistance and other services totaling $150,179.09. During this same period, he wrote and cashed over 300 checks to himself in amounts ranging from $45 to $7,500, without authorization from the estate or the Court and completely depleted the account, allegedly stealing a total of $587,160.56.

The case was investigated by Supervising Financial Investigator Rosa Velasquez, under the supervision of Chief Financial Investigator Michael Campi, of the District Attorney’s newly- formed Financial Investigators Bureau.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Frank Dudis, of the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, Unit Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Felice Sontupe, Chief of the District Attorney’s Fraud Bureau, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief.

#

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 23, 2016

 

Brooklyn Man Sentenced in Absentia to 40 Years in Prison for
Shooting Five Members of a Family with whom he had an Ongoing Dispute

Defendant Sought Revenge after Being Reported to Police
For Throwing Milkshake at Teenage Girl in McDonald’s Restaurant

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 25-year-old Bushwick man was sentenced in absentia to 40 years in prison for opening fire on the family of a young woman with whom he had an ongoing dispute, striking five of them, including her father.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant brazenly shot and injured five people, all of whom are lucky to be alive. When it became clear, near the end of trial, that the evidence against him was overwhelming he absconded. Let’s be clear, however, that he will be found and will serve many years in prison.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Curtis Peterson, 25, of Greene Avenue in Bushwick. He was sentenced to 40 in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Gary. The defendant was convicted last month of three counts of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree attempted assault, one count of second-degree assault, one count of first-degree reckless endangerment, one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of first-degree harassment last month following a jury trial. The defendant, who was free on $100,000 bail, absconded following summations.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on July 20, 2013, at approximately 2 p.m., the defendant, who was with a group of young men, approached the victims, who were on Menahan Street. He opened fire, striking Ronaldo Pizarro, 45, in the stomach, striking Pizarro’s wife Melody Amill, 37, in the knee, and striking his son, Ronaldo Jr., 22, in the leg. Pizarro’s aunt, Wanda Espinoza, 45, was hit in the stomach and another relative, Manuel Rivera, 62, was hit in the ankle.

Furthermore, according to trial testimony, Peterson had an ongoing dispute with Pizarro’s 18-year-old daughter whom he harassed on July 18, 2013, by showing up at her job in a McDonald’s and throwing a milkshake at her. Pizarro’s daughter, at the behest of her parents, reported the harassment to the police, according to testimony, leading Peterson to seek retaliation by confronting and shooting at her family members.

Finally, according to trial testimony, a 9mm Taurus semiautomatic handgun was found at the scene and the defendant’s DNA was present on the firearm. The defendant fled to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was arrested several days later.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Chief of the District Attorney’s Grey Zone Trial Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Ross Yaggy, also of the Grey Zone.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 19, 2016

 

Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 22 Years to Life in Prison for
Killing Teen in Christmas Eve Shooting

Struck Victim Seven Times following Argument on Facebook

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 20-year-old man from Coney Island, Brooklyn has been sentenced to 22 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a teenager who was walking his dog on Christmas Eve 2013. An argument on Facebook preceded the incident.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant murdered a teenager over an argument they had on social media.  Anyone who thinks it is acceptable to commit such a senseless act of violence deserves to spend many years behind bars to think about what they did.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Jerome Leslie, 20, of 2820 West 32^nd Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog to 22 years to life in prison following his conviction on April 14, 2016 on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a jury trial.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on December 24, 2013 at about 7 p.m., the defendant shot and killed Yaquin English, 17, outside 3144 Bayview Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Moments earlier, the defendant went to the victim’s apartment building, looking for him. A short time later, the victim got off the elevator with his dog, a pit-bull. Before he re-entered the building, the defendant opened fire, striking the victim seven times, killing him, the evidence showed. The dog, which was tied to a railing, sustained a wound to the paw.

In the weeks leading up to the shooting, the victim engaged in an argument on Facebook regarding his female cousin, who was romantically involved with the defendant. Leslie threatened to kill English during the online correspondence, a witness testified.

The defendant was arrested in February 2014 and subsequently made a statement to detectives, admitting his involvement in the shooting.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Stewart of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Kenneth Taub, Chief.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 19, 2016

 

Seven Brooklyn Men Charged in Narcotics Takedown in Clinton Hill;
Numerous “Open-Air” Drug Sales near Schools, Places of Worship

Approximately 48 Transactions Made During Eight-Month Investigation

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, together with New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, today announced that seven people have been arrested for allegedly selling heroin, crack-cocaine, marijuana and other narcotics to undercover officers over the past eight months as part of an anti-drug initiative in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

District Attorney Thompson said, “These defendants have been charged for allegedly dealing crack-cocaine, heroin and other drugs in broad daylight and near schools and houses of worship in total disregard for the children and people who attend them.  We did this investigation and made these arrests because we’re determined to rid our communities of the scourge of drug dealing.”

The District Attorney said that the investigation began in September 2015 following community complaints regarding drug sales in the confines of the 88^th precinct in Clinton Hill. Specifically, the investigation focused on a several-block area extending from Gates Avenue in the north to Atlantic Avenue in the south and from Classon Avenue in the east to Clinton Avenue in the west. In addition, a number of the transactions took place in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the vicinity of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue.

Over the course of the investigation, undercover officers made approximately 48 buys of crack cocaine, heroin, Klonopin, marijuana and Xanax. The drugs were branded with various names, including “Red Dragon,” “Death Strike” and “Jack Daniels.” During one street transaction, an undercover officer was sold 699 glassines of heroin at $10 apiece.

The majority of the buys were made within 1,000 feet of a school, including: Public School 11, located on Waverly Avenue; Middle School 35, located on Macdonough Street; and Leadership Preparatory Charter School, located on Macon Street. In addition, many of the transactions took place in the vicinity of a senior center, residential homes and several small businesses. Further, approximately three transactions were made directly in front of or a few steps away from religious institutions.  Specifically, a number of transactions occurred inside an abandoned residential building located at 488 Waverly Avenue. Following the investigation, the building was seized by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

According to the investigation, many of the drug buys were conducted out in the open or via drive-up delivery, where drug dealers allegedly delivered narcotics upon request. The transactions occurred between the early morning hours, as early as 7:45 a.m., into the late evening.

The defendants were variously charged in indictments or complaints with criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds, second- and third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and related counts.

The investigation was conducted by New York City Police Department Detective Brian DePalo, of the Major Case Narcotics Bureau Brooklyn North, under the supervision of ­­­Inspector Joseph Kenny and Sergeant Robert Maloney, of the Major Case Narcotics Bureau Brooklyn North.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Jane Kim, of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit and Gregory Thomas, Senior Executive for Law Enforcement Operations, assisted in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ian Massar, of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Tara Lenich, Deputy Chief, of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. 

Defendant Addendum: 

1. Eben Barnes (aka Whispers), 26, of 136 Cambridge Place, Brooklyn.
2. Keith Harding (aka Murray), 37, of 769 Saint Marks Place, Brooklyn.
3. Willie Moore (aka Nick), 58, of 395 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn.
4. Maurice Wright (aka Black Hat), 36, of 30 Claver Place, Brooklyn.
5. Shane Lyons (aka Rock), 44, of 1605 Fulton Street, Brooklyn.
6. Deyshaun Wigfall (aka Day Day), 20, of 1084 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn.
7. Omar Abdelkader (aka Omar), 26, of 360 95^th Street, Brooklyn. 

# 

    A criminal complaint is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 16, 2016

 

Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Up to 15 Years in Prison for Fatal Crash
That Left 12-Year-Old Girl Dead, Mother and Sister Injured

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to Top Count of Manslaughter for Speeding in Stolen Car,
Losing Control of Vehicle, Jumping Sidewalk and Killing Joie Sellers

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 28-year-old Brooklyn man has been sentenced to the maximum of five to 15 years in prison following his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter for the 2014 fatal car crash in Flatlands that left a young girl dead and her mother and sister seriously injured.

The District Attorney said, “Robert DeCarlo was sentenced to the maximum allowed by law on this case, but this will never compensate for the loss of Joie Sellers, a beautiful and vibrant young girl who was robbed of her life because of the defendant’s reckless and irresponsible actions. We will continue to hold drivers accountable for the choices they make behind the wheel.”

The District Attorney said that the defendant, Robert DeCarlo, 28, of Brooklyn, was sentenced today to an indeterminate term of five to 15 years in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic. The defendant pleaded guilty to the top count of second-degree manslaughter and to two counts of second-degree assault on April 29, 2016. Justice D’Emic also sentenced the defendant to three-and-a-half years, to run concurrent, following the defendant’s guilty plea to second-degree robbery stemming from a 2014 incident.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, at approximately 4:45 p.m., on July 2, 2014 the defendant was driving a 2005 Dodge Caravan minivan westbound on Flatlands Avenue, near Schenectady Avenue, speeding in excess of 50 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone. The defendant lost control of the vehicle, then mounted the sidewalk striking three pedestrians: Joie Sellers, 12; her sister, Charli Sellers, 9, and their mother, Marcia Landais, 38.

The defendant climbed out of the window and fled the scene, according to the investigation. He surrendered the following day. The minivan had been stolen days prior to the fatal crash.

Joie Sellers suffered massive injuries; she was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Charli Sellers suffered head trauma and was in a coma for several weeks. Landais suffered pelvic fractures. Both underwent physical therapy to recover from their injuries.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gayle M. Dampf, Chief of the District Attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 12, 2016

 

Brooklyn Man Sentenced for Stabbing Death of
Girlfriend in Residential Mental Health Facility

Defendant to Serve 25 Years to Life in State Prison

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for stabbing to death his 48-year-old girlfriend at a residential facility for people with mental health diagnoses, where they both lived.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant brutally attacked his girlfriend and left her to die in a hallway. He should now spend many years in prison to punish him and to protect society.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Benjamin Braxton, 52, formerly of 330 MacDougal Street, in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The defendant was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Harrington. He was convicted of one count of second-degree murder last month following a jury trial.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on May 3, 2013, at approximately 1:40 p.m., the defendant and his girlfriend of one year, Raynell Howington, 48, who were both residents of The MacDougal Street Apartments, run by Concern for Independent Living, at 330 MacDougal Street, and had met at the residence, were both in the computer room at the facility when the defendant slashed the victim numerous times with a box cutter on her neck and legs.

The defendant left the room when someone opened the door, according to testimony. Howington managed to crawl to the door and open it, at which point the defendant dragged her out into the hallway and kicked and slashed her repeatedly. That part of the attack was captured on a surveillance video in the hallway.

Howington died at the scene of neck wounds, including injuries to the trachea and right internal jugular vein. The defendant fled the scene, according to testimony, but was arrested the next day when he attempted to visit a friend at a shelter in Manhattan who saw news reports about the attack and called police.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Joan Erskine, of the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau, under the supervision of Michelle L. Kaminsky, Bureau Chief.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 12, 2016

 

Owner of Vegan Food Business and her Husband Indicted for
Allegedly Stealing from Employees, Defrauding Investors, not Paying Taxes

Spent about $2 Million in Business Proceeds and Investments on Casinos and Luxury Items;
Failed to Pay Full Wages to 84 Workers of Pure Food & Wine and One Lucky Duck

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a former owner of a high-end family of food companies and her husband have been arrested in Tennesse on a warrant stemming from an unsealed 24-count indictment in which they are variously charged with allegedly stealing $844,000 from four investors, shortchanging employees of more than $40,000 in wages and failing to pay over $400,000 in sales tax. The defendants instead spent about $2 million in casinos, on expensive watches and on luxury travel until their business finally closed in July 2015.

District Attorney Thompson said, “These defendants are accused of repeatedly stealing from and lying to their loyal employees and to investors who poured money into their company. They allegedly gambled away the money or spent it lavishly while leaving everyone else in the lurch. They were finally caught and we intend to now hold them accountable for this outrageous thievery and fraud.”

The District Attorney identified the defendants as Sarma Melngailis, 43, and Anthony Strangis, 35, both of East 21^st Street in Manhattan, and Melngailis’s companies, including One Lucky Duck Holdings LLC, located at 630 Flushing Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. They were apprehended in Sevierville, Tennessee on Tuesday and are currently awaiting extradition. They will be arraigned on a later date on a 24-count indictment in which they are variously charged with second-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal tax fraud, first-degree scheme to defraud, violation of labor law and related counts. The defendants face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count with which they are charged.

The District Attorney said that Melngailis was the owner of companies that sold plant-based, raw food and other organic products. In 2004, she opened Pure Food & Wine, an upscale vegan restaurant, as well as a juice bar, in Manhattan. In 2010 she added One Lucky Duck juice bar in Manhattan and in 2012 established the One Lucky Duck raw food production center and Internet sales office in Brooklyn. She ran all the companies from 630 Flushing Avenue as one interconnected enterprise. Beginning around 2013, Melngailis’s husband, Strangis, whom she introduced to staff as “Shane Fox,” became a regular presence at the companies and exercised authority over the business, the investigation found.

From January 2014 to January 2015, according to the indictment, Melngailis transferred over $1.6 million from the business accounts to her personal bank account. Strangis spent nearly $1 million of these funds at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, over $200,000 at the Mohegan Sun Resort Casino in Connecticut, over $80,000 at specialty watch retailers, including Rolex and Beyer, over $70,000 at hotels in Europe and New York and over $10,000 on Uber car rides. He also withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

During that time, Melngailis was no longer physically present at her companies, but told staff via emails she was working to grow and expand the business. She was unable to pay employees in April, May, July, August and November 2014, according to the indictment. In August 2014, Strangis (as “Shane Fox”) held a staff meeting and made numerous false statements, including a claim that he was in the process of buying the company “on paper.” In January 2015, paychecks bounced, leaving 98 workers without pay. They refused to work, despite the owner’s urgings, and the business closed.

Beginning in February 2015, Melngailis asked former patrons to invest in her company to restart the business. In the course of those discussions, she falsely stated that she had to withdraw money in 2014 to help her mother, the investigation found. Based on her representations, four people invested a total of $844,000 and she used some of this money to pay back former employees and settle other bills. In April 2015, Pure Food & Wine and One Lucky Duck’s Brooklyn location reopened.

To reassure the investors, Melngailis told them she was negotiating a sale of the entire business to a wealthy man named “Michael Caledonia.” That individual also told investors he was planning to buy them out and was going over the business finances. After meeting with “Caledonia” in May 2015, one of the investors discovered that he was actually Strangis, according to the indictment.

By June 2015, Melngailis had allegedly transferred over $400,000 from the business accounts to her personal account. She withdrew over $100,000, transferred over $300,000 to Foxwoods on behalf of her husband and charged nearly $25,000 in the Connecticut casinos, according to the investigation. When employees’ paychecks bounced again, she sent them texts and emails promising to fix everything and threatening to fire anyone who refused to work, the investigation found. In July 2015, the employees shuttered the company for good. The defendants allegedly defrauded 84 workers of up to $3,500 each for a total of over $40,000.

In addition, Melngailis and her corporations failed to remit the required sales tax to the State of New York from the beginning of 2014 through the demise of the business for a total of sales tax due of $409,987.56, according to the indictment.

The defendants left New York in the summer of 2015 and were tracked to Las Vegas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

The case was investigated by Detective Investigator Jennifer Burgos and Financial Investigator Rosa Velasquez, under the supervision of Supervising Detective Investigator Robert Addonizio and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Edwin Murphy.

The tax crimes were investigated by Tax Auditor I Shumaila Qureshi, under the supervision of Tax Auditor III Ron Chan,  both of the Criminal Investigations Division of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

The case is being prosecuted by Meredith McGowan, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Labor Fraud Unit and Assistant District Attorney Heidi Bausk, under the supervision of Felice Sontupe, Chief of the Frauds Bureau, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the Investigations Division, and Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 12, 2016

 

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Announces Dismissal
Of Charges against Postal Carrier Glen Grays

“In the interest of justice I asked the Court to dismiss the disorderly conduct charge against Glen Grays, which resulted from his arrest on March 17, 2016. Mr. Grays was working his postal route in Crown Heights when he was arrested and put in handcuffs, following a driving incident involving undercover police officers.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 10, 2016

 

Brooklyn D.A. Moves to Vacate the Wrongful Conviction of Andre Hatchett
Who Was Convicted of Murdering Acquaintance in 1991 in Bed-Stuy Park

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that following a thorough investigation by his Conviction Review Unit he will move to vacate a second-degree murder conviction against Andre Hatchett, 49, who was wrongfully convicted of the charge following a jury trial. Hatchett is presently incarcerated and serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison on this case.

District Attorney Thompson said, “After a thorough and fair review of this case by my Conviction Review Unit, I’ve concluded that, in the interest of justice, Andre Hatchett’s murder conviction should not stand and that he should be released from custody immediately.”

The District Attorney’s Office will move to vacate the conviction, in the presence of Mr. Hatchett, today at 2:15 p.m., before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic at 320 Jay Street, 15^th floor.

The District Attorney described the facts of the case as follows: On February 18, 1991, at approximately 11 p.m., police officers assigned to the 81^st precinct responded to a 911 call of an unconscious woman in Monroe Street Park (now known as Reinaldo Selgado Playground) in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. They discovered a female lying face up on the ground near the handball courts. The victim was identified as Neda Mae Carter, 38, who was deceased, completely nude, and very badly beaten about the face, head and neck.

The medical examiner’s office later determined the cause of death to be ligature strangulation and blunt trauma about the head; it was also determined that the victim had been dragged a distance due to abrasions on her knees, hip and shoulder. Her body was positioned in a particular fashion with her arms splayed straight out from her body at 90 degree angles, her legs straight, close together and crossed at the ankle, similar to a crucifixion position.

Detectives soon thereafter visited the victim’s mother, Zella Mae Carter, with whom she lived, and learned that Neda Mae had left home at approximately 9:30 p.m. that night, and that she was with Andre Hatchett.

The sole eyewitness to testify in the case was Jerry Williams, a career criminal who testified that he and another woman were walking in the park that night and heard what sounded like a woman screaming. They walked in the direction of the scream, saw someone on the ground and a man standing over that person and asked what was going on. The man yelled at them to leave and mind their own business. They left the park and Williams’ companion, Yvette Hopkins, called 911, but the two left before the police arrived.

Williams was arrested for an unrelated burglary on February 25, 1991, in the 81^st precinct, and while in custody at the station house told police that he recognized another suspect, who was in custody at the same time for an unrelated robbery, as someone he saw commit a murder in Monroe Street Park a week earlier.

That man was investigated and it was determined that the suspect Williams pointed to had a solid alibi and could not have committed the murder.

Williams’ later viewed a lineup and picked out Andre Hatchett as the killer, testifying that he recognized him from soup kitchens in the area and knew him to be a crack addict.

Hatchett’s first trial ended in a mistrial after the judge determined there was ineffective assistance of counsel. The second trial resulted in a conviction on second-degree murder charges and Hatchett was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Upon reviewing the conviction, the CRU found that the defendant was deprived of his due process rights based on several issues, including Brady violations, because his defense was never notified by prosecutors that Williams initially positively identified another man as the killer and that Williams told detectives he and Hopkins both smoked crack on the day of the murder. In fact, the prosecutor in the case asked Williams if he smoked crack on the day of the murder during the second trial and he perjuriously claimed he had not.

The CRU also determined that although Hatchett had been shot in the legs and trachea six months before the murder, causing him to use two crutches to get around and significantly weakening his voice, his medical condition had not been brought out by his defense lawyer at trial. This evidence is important because the medical examiner testified that the blows to the victim’s head required a significant degree of physical force, that there was a violent struggle and that the victim’s body was dragged and arranged in a certain position with her head propped up against a tree. This would have been difficult given Hatchett’s physical condition in 1991. It would also be difficult for the defendant to shout loudly at Williams and Hopkins and for his voice to carry across the park as Williams testified.

The severe nature of the Brady violations in this case, coupled with the undisclosed unreliability of the People’s lone identifying witness, prevents the CRU from supporting the integrity of the conviction.

The District Attorney said that his Conviction Review Unit examined the case because it was brought to their attention by The Innocence Project.

To date, the work of the Conviction Review Unit, which is led by Assistant District Attorney Mark Hale, has resulted in 19 convictions being vacated. In addition, the CRU has found that of the cases reviewed thus far, 38 convictions are just and will not be recommended to be vacated.  Approximately 100 cases are pending review.

#

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 23, 2016

 

Brooklyn D.A. Moves to Vacate the Wrongful Conviction of Vanessa Gathers
Tried for Murder – Convicted of Manslaughter – Spent 10 Years in Prison;
First Woman Exonerated by Conviction Review Unit

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that following a thorough review by his Conviction Review Unit, he will move to vacate a manslaughter conviction against Vanessa Gathers, 58, who was wrongfully convicted of the charge following a 1998 jury trial.

District Attorney Thompson said, “After a thorough and fair review of the case by my Conviction Review Unit and the Independent Review Panel, I have concluded that, in the interest of justice, the manslaughter conviction obtained against Vanessa Gathers should not stand and that she should be given back her good name.”

The District Attorney’s Office will move to vacate the conviction, in the presence of Ms. Gathers, today at 2:15 p.m., before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic at 320 Jay Street, 15^th floor.

The District Attorney described the facts of the case as follows: On November 18, 1991, Michael Shaw, 71, called 911 and reported that he had been assaulted and robbed inside of his apartment located at 170 New York Avenue in Crown Heights. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance where he underwent two operations to stop the bleeding in his brain. He lapsed into a post-surgical coma and died on April 21, 1992. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.

The case was classified as a robbery on November 23, 1991 and was investigated by detectives assigned to the 77^th precinct, to no avail. Following Mr. Shaw’s death, it was classified as a homicide and assigned to Detective Louis Scarcella of Brooklyn North Homicide and others. Detective Scarcella and his partner approached Vanessa Gathers on the street on May 18, 1992, because she fit the description of one of the assailants. She denied being involved in the robbery and assault but identified another woman who may have committed those crimes. She was released without being charged.

Five years later, in 1997, following further investigation, Gathers was questioned again by Detective Scarcella and gave a confession. Her confession was the sole evidence against her at trial. She was convicted in 1998 and imprisoned, then released to parole on March 2, 2007, after spending 10 years in prison and completed her parole in 2012.

After examining all of the facts and circumstances of the case against Gathers it was determined by the CRU that there is substantial evidence that she made a false confession based, in part, on the defendant’s inability to articulate her role in the assault; perceived inaccuracies in the statement itself; and the lack of details in the statement. The CRU found that the complete lack of a coherent narrative in the defendant’s confession combined with apparent factual errors, amount to reasonable doubt in the validity of the confession itself.

The District Attorney said that his Conviction Review Unit examined the case because it was one of approximately 72 cases in which retired Detective Louis Scarcella was involved.

Gathers, 58, is the first woman to have her conviction vacated by the CRU.

To date, the work of the Conviction Review Unit, which is led by Assistant District Attorney Mark Hale, has resulted in 18 convictions being vacated. In addition, the CRU has found that of the cases reviewed thus far, 38 convictions are just and will not be recommended to be vacated.  Approximately 100 cases are pending review.

#