STATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY RICHARD A. BROWN

In November 1992 Gerald Harris was convicted of robbery following a jury trial before Supreme Court Justice Randall Eng. The defendant, who is now 32 years old, was sentenced to nine to eighteen years in prison.

The robbery took place on December 18, 1991 at about 11:00 p.m. inside the garage of a private home in Jamaica Estates. The defendant was found guilty of stealing cash, jewelry and a coat from the residents.

Based on information presented to this office by defense counsel, we re-opened the matter and consented to a hearing at which the defendant's brother and two other men testified that the defendant did not participate in the robbery.

Today the Court vacated the judgment of conviction and freed Mr. Harris. It is a decision in which, after a full and complete investigation of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the defendant's arrest and conviction, including the administration of a polygraph examination, I concur.