Case dismissed
Teen nixed plea deal, spent year on Rikers
The Bronx teen who became a poster child for bail reform when he turned down a no-jail deal in a bodega shooting — and accused an NYPD detective of pressuring witnesses — got the surprise news Wednesday that a judge was dismissing his case.
Pedro Hernandez, 17, who spent a year on Rikers Island until he was bailed out by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights nonprofit, got the news on the brink of his trial for weapons possession and other charges related to the 2015 shooting of a 15-year-old boy.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett granted a motion to dismiss — and DA Darcel Clark later explained, “We discovered unanticipated witness and evidentiary issues, including that one of the original witnesses is no longer cooperative.
“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. Further, the victim of the shooting is unable to identify who shot him.”
Clark’s statement continued: “It is therefore appropriate to make an application to dismiss this indictment as a matter of justice.”
Hernandez was arrested in July 2016 and gained national attention for refusing to accept a plea deal in that case that would have spared him jail time. He instead remained behind bars until his $250,000 bail was reduced to $100,000 and eventually posted in July amid allegations of police misconduct in the case.
He has since sued two NYPD 42nd Precinct detectives — David Terrell and Daniel Brady — and the city, claiming false arrest.
“I also will not tolerate misconduct by law enforcement. The Public Integrity Bureau [of the DA’s Office] is investigating allegations related to this matter and will go wherever the evidence leads it,” Clark said.
Clark did not mention Terrell or any other cops by name.
Terrell’s lawyer, Eric Sanders, said his client “offers no personal opinion other than to reemphasize he played no investigative role in the Hernandez prosecution. Moreover, for any party to suggest the contrary is an absolute fabrication.”
Terrell has filed a $175 million notice of claim that says the city has created a “cottage industry” of gang-bangers who collect taxpayer money with bogus com- plaints of police misconduct.
After Wednesday’s court hearing, Hernandez — wearing a black suit and green tie and flanked by his mother, brother and grandmother — smiled.
“I felt lucky,” he told reporters. “I had a lucky feeling.”
Prosecutor Julian O’Connor reiterated Clark’s statements during the hearing, saying: “Witness accounts in this case have proven to be inconsistent and contradictory, therefore, at this time the people move to dismiss the indictment against Pedro Hernandez.”
Hernandez still has an unrelated indictment pending against him in a knifepoint robbery in November 2015.
Prosecutors have also said he is under investigation in a third, undisclosed criminal case.
His defense lawyer, Alex Spiro, declined to comment on Wednesday’s dismissal.