Man exonerated in retired officer's killing after more than 20 years

A New York judge on Monday vacated the conviction and dismissed the case against Jon-Adrian Velazquez, who spent more than 20 years in prison for a murder prosecutors now say he did not commit.

“Who am I? I’m a very lucky man. I’m lucky that so many people believed in me,” Velazquez, 48, who was formally released in 2021, said outside of the court.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg's office, two individuals committed a robbery of a gambling parlor on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem on Jan. 27, 1998. During the robbery, retired police detective Albert Ward pulled a gun and a struggle ensued with one of the armed robbers, who identified himself as “Tee.”

“Tee" shot and killed Ward, according to Bragg's office.

The then-22-year-old Velazquez was arrested, along with Derry Daniels, and convicted for Ward's murder at trial in 1999. He served more than 23 years in prison until his sentence was commuted in 2021. On Sept. 30, 1999, over 18 months after he was arrested, Daniels pleaded guilty to a single count of robbery in the second degree and was sentenced to 12 years in prison as a repeat felon, according to his attorneys. Daniels was released in 2008.

In 2022, the city's Post-Conviction Justice Unit compared Velazquez's DNA to a betting slip that “Tee” handled before shooting Ward. Velazquez’s DNA was not found on the slip. This type of DNA comparison was not available at the time of Velazquez’s trial in 1999.

According to Bragg's office, the reinvestigation into Ward's murder found that the DNA testing results could have impacted the jury’s consideration of other trial evidence, including Velazquez’s alibi, the lack of evidence connecting him to the crime and inconsistent witness descriptions.

Velazquez was granted clemency in 2021 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and spoke with President Joe Biden as an activist for criminal justice reform.

His case is featured in the 2023 movie, "Sing Sing," named for the prison, about a wrongfully imprisoned man who "finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men," according to A24.

“JJ Velazquez has lived in the shadow of his conviction for more than 25 years, and I hope that today brings with it a new chapter for him,” Bragg said in a statement. The reinvestigation was conducted by the Office’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit and defense counsel for Velazquez.

The creation of the Post-Conviction Justice Unit in 2022 has led to 10 vacated convictions, Bragg said.

"These convictions have deep consequences for individuals and their loved ones, compromise public safety and undermine trust in the criminal justice system, which is why this work is of the utmost importance to me," Bragg said.