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Brooklyn Judge Vacates 2007 Robbery Conviction, Freeing Kenneth Windley After 19 Years

Prosecutors sought dismissal after a reinvestigation confirmed confessions by two other men and corroborating records tied them to the 2005 attack.

Overview

  • Justice Matthew D’Emic tossed the conviction and dismissed the case at the request of District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Windley’s lawyers.
  • Windley, 61, had been serving a 20-years-to-life sentence after a 2007 jury verdict that relied on a lineup identification and a stolen money order he used to buy a stove.
  • Two incarcerated men admitted they committed the robbery and prosecutors said their accounts were supported by recorded prison phone calls and emails.
  • The men who confessed were already convicted in a pattern of 2005–2006 robberies targeting older men followed from banks and check-cashing locations.
  • No new charges will be filed because the statute of limitations has run and the victim, 70-year-old Gerald Ross, has died, prosecutors said.