On the afternoon of January 27, 1998, a violent robbery in a Harlem gambling parlor ended the life of Albert Ward, a retired New York City police officer. The male victim was at his illegal numbers spot on the second floor of 2335 Eighth Avenue when two men entered with the intent to rob the establishment.
The situation escalated quickly as one of the assailants, a dark-skinned man, began to tie people up with duct tape while his accomplice, identified by some witnesses as 'Tee,'
demanded money. In a moment of defiance, Ward, who was 70 years old, retrieved his own. 38 caliber revolver. He approached the dark-skinned man from behind and put the gun to his neck. A struggle ensued, and Ward's gun discharged. Alerted by the commotion and the other robber's cry of 'he's got a gun,' 'Tee' turned and fired his weapon, striking and killing Albert Ward with a gunshot to the head. The two assailants then fled the scene.
The subsequent police investigation was swift and extensive, with numerous officers descending on the Harlem address. Eyewitness accounts were crucial in the early stages, leading to a composite sketch of the shooter. The investigation initially pointed towards a man named 'Mustafa,' but the focus shifted when an eyewitness, Augustus Brown, identified Jon-Adrian Velazquez as the gunman. Despite the fact that Velazquez did not match the initial composite sketch and no physical or DNA evidence tied him to the crime, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Albert Ward.
In a case that relied heavily on eyewitness testimony, Jon-Adrian Velazquez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. However, the integrity of the conviction was later called into question as some witnesses recanted their statements, claiming they had been pressured to identify Velazquez. After serving 23 years behind bars, a significant development emerged. Advanced DNA testing, unavailable at the time of the initial trial, was conducted on a betting slip believed to have been handled by the shooter. The results showed no genetic material matching Velazquez. In light of this new evidence, and with the support of the Manhattan District Attorney's conviction integrity unit, a judge vacated Jon-Adrian Velazquez's conviction in September 2024, and the case against him was formally dismissed. The actual perpetrators of Albert Ward's murder have never been brought to justice.
