JJ Velazquez exonerated in killing of retired NYPD cop after 25 years

More than 25 years after a Bronx man was charged with killing a retired NYPD cop during a robbery, his conviction was vacated Monday with the help of updated DNA testing.

Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, 48, walked into Manhattan Supreme Court already a free man, his sentence having been commuted in 2021. But after the hearing concluded, with supporters applauding, he pumped his fist, later wearing a hat emblazoned with the words “End of an Error”.

Before the exoneration, Velazquez told Variety he would finally have the “scarlet letter” removed from his chest.

“It’s a lot deeper than discrimination,” he said. “It comes down to diminishing a person’s human dignity. I’m getting a part of my dignity back.”

Outside the courtroom, Velazquez’s mother recounted the years of holidays spent visiting her son in prison with his two young children in tow, placing a lit match in a cupcake for each birthday instead of a candle.

“It was important for them to know who their father was because he was an innocent man who had been wrongfully incarcerated,” said Maria Velazquez

“This is what they did to us — they tortured us, they made us suffer. But it’s over today.”

Velazquez greeted his supporters after walking outside court holding hands with both his mother and his girlfriend.

“Who am I? I’m a very lucky man. I’m lucky that so many people believed in me,” Velasquez said.

“The most precious commodity in this world is not gold or platinum or even cash, it’s time, because people’s lives are measured by the time that we have on this earth.”

On January 27, 1998, two men robbing a Harlem betting parlor got into a shootout with retired detective Albert Ward, 59, killing him. A man identifying himself as “Tee” was said to be the triggerman.

Velazquez, then 22, was quickly arrested along with an alleged accomplice, 34-year-old Derry Daniels. In 1999 Velazquez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 25 years.

In 2017, Velazquez’s lawyer Robert Gottlieb demanded a new trial, saying the Manhattan District Attorney deliberately kept from his client’s trial attorneys a document of an interview with Daniels’ father, who saw the real killer shortly before the attack.

The record “provided a definite description of a third party culprit, not Jon-Adrian Velazquez, whom the father observed with his son, Derry, just hours before the murder and who matched the exact description of the shooter that had been given by eyewitnesses,” the 2017 filing said.

Daniels, who was allowed to plead down to robbery, was sentenced to just 12 years behind bars for his role. Velazquez says Daniels was a stranger.

Velazquez’s case became a cause celebre for believers in his innocence, including actors Martin Sheen, Nick Cannon and Alfre Woodard, who stood with Gottlieb as he announced the new filing.

But it was newly-discovered DNA evidence that finally gave Velazquez his life back. In 2022 the case was opened for reinvestigation by the Post-Conviction Justice Unit, which used new methods to test DNA found on a betting slip handled by “Tee”. It was determined that Velazquez’s DNA was not found on the slip of paper, said the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Since being released from prison, Velazquez has been busy. He portrayed himself in a 2023 movie called Sing Sing about a Shakespearean production at the infamous Ossining, NY prison and has been working as an activist, even meeting with President Biden for a discussion on legal reform of the justice system.

“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,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who added that the DA’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit has vacated 10 convictions through reinvestigation since being established in 2022.

During the hearing on Monday, Judge Abraham Clott noted that a celebration was in order.

Velazquez, while grateful to be exonerated, said there are many others like him still locked up, posting on social media that it wasn’t just his victory.

“Let’s ensure that this story inspires change and prevents other wrongful convictions from occurring,” he said. “Together, we can shine a light on the importance of truth and the strength of the human spirit.”