Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

17 yr. old black male arrested for armed robbery...innocent...no prior record...

My nephew is a 17 yr. old black male who was arrested two days ago in Broolyn and taken to Rikers Island He was arrested for armed robbery based on a statement form the victim poiting him out as the attacker. My nephew has no prior record, was hanging out on a basketball court awaiting a game. The victim was attacked with a knife and $150.00 was stolen. My nephew dresses like most of the young black males in his neighborhood. He was wearing a red shirt and a hair scarf( not gang related). His mother and family are very supportive of him. He does not carry weapons and upon arrest had only eight dollars on him. Please...explain how he could be arrested just based on someone id'ing him...Many young black male teans wear red shirts and head scarfs. What can my family do to make sure my nephew is not wrongly convicted for this crime that he did not do?

Thank You.


Asked on 7/10/01, 4:17 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Garry Hanlon

Re: 17 yr. old black male arrested for armed robbery...innocent...no prior recor

Hire an attorney immediately

People are arrested and convicted on

bad ID all the time

A victim saying that someone did it, and

pointing him out is legally sufficient

for both an arrest and a conviction

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Answered on 7/10/01, 10:04 pm
Peter Bark Bark & Karpf

Re: 17 yr. old black male arrested for armed robbery...innocent...no prior recor

The most important thing for you to do for him is to determine if anyone saw him at the time the crime was committed who can provide an alibi. Other than that do your best to get him out of jail because it has been shown that those people who are bailed out have a much better chance at trial, especially in Brooklyn. This is the kind of case where, if everything is done right, he should beat it. good luck!

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Answered on 7/10/01, 4:17 pm


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