Kareem Bellamy - Mistaken ID / Perjury
Bellamy, Kareem; murder; NRE: mistaken witness identification, perjury/false accusation, withheld exculpatory evidence
[667:925]; 2nd Dept. 2/2/98; affirmed
"[W]e are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence..."
[872:692]; Queens Cty. Ct. 6/27/88; motion for new trial granted
"In 1996, Court TV aired a documentary about People v. Bellamy...The documentary was appropriately entitled 'Anything You Say'...because it was clear from what the judge and parties thought, that [Bellamy] was convicted mostly because of what he said at the time he was picked up for drinking beer in public as opposed to the other evidence in the case.
"On April 9, 1994, at approximately 9:30am, James Abbott was stabbed to death on the corner of Beach 48th Street and Beach Channel Drive. During the police investigation, Andrew Carter, the sole eyewitness to the stabbing, told the police that he saw two men beating, punching, and kicking the victim. Carter stated that one of the two men stabbed Abbott numerous times in the chest, abdomen, back, leg and arm. Carter stated that he then saw the two flee on foot. As a C-Town supermarket bag containing groceries was found by Abbott's body, the police went into the C-Town near the scene of the crime to conduct interviews.
"Linda Sanchez, a cashier in C-Town, was present when the police conducted their interviews on April 9, 1994, shortly after the crime. At no time has she ever stated that she saw the crime. On May 13, 1994, she called the police to tell them that a person whom she saw with Abbott just prior to the shooting was standing outside of 51-32 Beach Channel Drive and gave a description of what he was wearing. That person, [Bellamy], was picked up for drinking beer in public. During the ride to the precinct, [Bellamy] stated 'this must be a mistake -- somebody must have accused me of murdering someone.'
"On May 14, 1994, after the police were able to locate Carter, [Bellamy] appeared in a lineup and was identified as the murderer of James Abbott by Andrew Carter, and by Linda Sanchez as one of the people she saw follow Abbott just prior to the murder. [Bellamy] was then arrested and charged with various crimes related to the murder of James Abbott.
"After a jury trial...[Bellamy] was found guilty of depraved indifference murder..."
"Linda Sanchez would later testify that, one week after the stabbing, Bellamy walked up to her cash register and told her, 'You know, you know, you fucking bitch -- you're next.' Then she called the detective assigned to the case.
"Prior to trial, the prosecution shared with the defense the existence of a confidential informant ('CI') who said two other men had committed the crime. But the police wouldn't give the CI's name to the defense, and the police claimed they couldn't locate her.
"In 2008, a different CI (male) said that the real stabber had confessed to him (because the former was mad, as he thought his accomplice was cooperating with the police). This CI named the same two actual killers the female CI did."
from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):
"On September 16, 2011, the prosecution dismissed the charges.
"In March 2012, Bellamy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York City and the officers in the case. In May 2015, the New York Court of Claims separately awarded Bellamy $2.75 million. Bellamy's federal lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2017, but his lawyers appealed and in 2019, the Second Circuit...reinstated the lawsuit. In July 2021, the federal lawsuit was settled for $8 million."
[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]
