Teen triumph

FOR MORE than a year, Pedro Hernandez remained locked up on Rikers Island — maintaining his innocence in a 2015 shooting and even refusing a plea deal.

The Bronx teen’s courage was rewarded Wednesday when prosecutors dismissed the charges in a case that made him a cause célèbre for critics of the city’s bail system.

The abrupt decision, announced on the morning that Hernandez’s trial was set to begin, marked a stunning turn in a case that has drawn national attention.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said the charges against Hernandez collapsed under an avalanche of inconsistent and contradictory information.

The key witness suddenly stopped cooperating and disappeared, and the victim couldn’t identify who shot him, she said.

“We discovered unanticipated witness and evidentiary issues,” Clark said.

“The investigation also revealed that information originally provided to my office during the initial investigation of this case has now proven to be inconsistent and contradictory.”

The decision was announced in Bronx Supreme Court, where Hernandez appeared in a black suit and green tie in a courtroom packed with spectators.

Hernandez, 18, is still facing charges in an unrelated robbery. But he was all smiles outside the courthouse after the brief hearing.

“I wasn’t surprised. I knew it was coming all along,” he said. “It was just a matter of time.”

Hernandez learned the news while riding in a car on the way to the courthouse. He said he sensed his good fortune as soon as he woke up.

“I felt lucky,” Hernandez said. “I had a lucky feeling.”

Prosecutors initially accused Hernandez of firing the shot that struck a 15-year-old boy in the left ankle outside a Morrisania supermarket on Sept. 1, 2015.

Rather than accept a plea agreement offered by prosecutors, he and his family hired a private investigator who found witnesses claiming that another gunman — not Hernandez — fired the gun.

Prosecutors ultimately amended the allegations, later claiming that Hernandez passed the gun to an unidentified triggerman.

A judge set Hernandez’s bail at $250,000. It was later reduced to $100,000 — an amount still beyond the means of the teen’s family. While languishing on Rikers Island, Hernandez established himself as an honors student and supporters say he landed a college scholarship. THEY’RE CANDIDATES for Brooklyn Civil Court judge, claimed they were maliciously prosecuted by a former district attorney and received endorsements Wednesday from the Families of the Wrongfully Convicted. John O’Hara and Sandra Roper are two of the 11 candidates running on the Democratic ticket. Primary Day is Tuesday, and there are only five available slots. O’Hara, a political gadfly, campaigned for years against former Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes’ reelection bids and even helped Roper during her race in 2001. O’Hara waged a 20-year fight to clear his name after Hynes’ office successfully prosecuted him for voter fraud. He was exonerated in January. Hynes was accused of framing Roper for stealing $9,000 from a client and lying about it. The charges were ultimately dismissed. The Families of the Wrongfully Convicted have not backed any other political candidate for office during this election season.