DA: Wrong photo led to NYC man’s faulty murder conviction
A photo of another person with the same name led to the wrongful arrest of a New York City man who has spent more than 18 years behind bars for murder, prosecutors said Thursday as they moved to vacate the conviction.
The prosecution of Sheldon Thomas, now 35, “was compromised from the very start by grave errors and lack of probable cause” to arrest him for the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Anderson Bercy on Dec. 24, 2004, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
Thomas was one of three people charged with killing Bercy and wounding another teenager in a drive-by shooting.