Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Man Convicted of Killing Seeks New Trial

Man convicted of 1990 killing of U.S. Open fan seeks new trial 

Attorneys for Johnny Hincapie are asking for a new trial in his decades-old case. He was one of eight people originally arrested for the vicious subway slashing of tourist Brian Watkins, who was in town with his family for the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 1990, as they headed to Greenwich Village for a post-match dinner.

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JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The family of Johnny Hincapie (left to right) brother Alejandro Hincapie, father Carlos Hincapie and mother Maria Hincapie gathered outside Manhattan Supreme Court, where their lawyer announced he was seeking a new trial to overturn Hincapie’s wrongful conviction for the 1990 murder of Utah tourist Brian Watkins.

A 41-year-old man has been wrongly imprisoned for more than two decades in the notorious 1990 slaying of a tennis fan from Utah, his lawyers charged Monday.
Attorneys for Johnny Hincapie are asking for a new trial in his decades-old case. He was one of eight people originally arrested for the vicious subway slashing of tourist Brian Watkins, who was in town with his family for the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 1990, as they headed to Greenwich Village for a post-match dinner.
Watkins, 22, was fatally stabbed in the chest while trying to protect his mother from a pack of teen muggers trying to get money to pay cover at a Roseland Ballroom show, where a larger group was headed to see a popular DJ.
"While Johnny did not play any part in the mugging, he was with the larger group of teenagers who went dancing at Roseland," according to a 51-page motion filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by lawyers Ron Kuby and Leah Busby.
Warren Buffett (right) poses with Johnny Hincapie, who was convicted of the 1990 murder of Utah tourist Brian Watkins.Hincapie's lawyers are seeking a new trial to overturn the conviction.

Warren Buffett (right) poses with Johnny Hincapie, who was convicted of the 1990 murder of Utah tourist Brian Watkins.Hincapie's lawyers are seeking a new trial to overturn the conviction.

The killing at the W. 53rd and Seventh Ave. E train station "shocked and outraged New York" and "was one of those terrible crimes that seemed to define New York City at that time," Kuby said outside the main Manhattan criminal courts building Monday.

"The police and the public reacted with notable and understandable outrage. The last victim in the Brian Watkins case, however, is Johnny Hincapie," he added.
Hincapie and friends were headed to the club for a popular DJ and Kuby and Busby say he was at the station but not on the platform where the former high school tennis star was murdered -- a claim recently reinforced by Luis Montero, whose own charges were dismissed more than a year after he was arrested in the case.
The Manhattan subway station where Brian Watkins was killed.

BRITE, GEORGE

The Manhattan subway station where Brian Watkins was killed.

"Johnny was ahead of me on the stairs as I was running up the steps," Montero wrote in an affidavit that accompanied the motion. "Johnny couldn't have had nothing to do with the crime. He wasn't here. I saw him on the electric stairs while the crime was happening."
Hincapie and his team said his confession came only after a browbeating by cops eager to make collars in the era of the crack epidemic and high-profile crimes like the Central Park jogger rape.
"After a long silent pause, Detective (Ronald) Casey said that if I wanted to go home that I had to memorize a story that was to my benefit. That if I did, he would have me driven back home immediately," Hincapie wrote in a statement.

Utah tennis fan Brian Watkins, shown in this undated file photo. Watkins was fatally stabbed on a New York subway platform while defending his mother in 1990.

AP

Utah tennis fan Brian Watkins, shown in this undated file photo. Watkins was fatally stabbed on a New York subway platform while defending his mother in 1990.

"I asked, 'If my attorney was here, what would he say about me memorizing a story?' He then said that my attorney would tell me to do likewise."'
Hincapie said he was "feeling extremely scared" and was "confused" by the cop's representation that a confession would be his ticket home.
"I proceeded to explicate what had transpired during the evening of the incident and that the first time I found out anything concerning a crime with someone dying in the subway station was while watching the news."
Note the use of "explicate" in his statement 
He later repeated the story to a prosecutor from the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The Daily News frontpage, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1990, reporting the arrests in the Watkins killing.

HANDOUT

The Daily News frontpage, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1990, reporting the arrests in the Watkins killing.

"I wanted to tell her everything I said was a lie. That Detective Casey made me memorize it and repeat it to everyone, but I was scared of Casey and said nothing," he said.
Note that he "wanted" to tell her everything.  Note also the word "memorize" as to the above quoted word.  

Another defendant in the case, Ricardo Lopez, told authorities Hincapie was not present for the robbery, but the statement was not allowed at his trial.
Hincapie, who is at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, N.Y., has earned his master's degree while in prison. He's serving a 25-years-to-life sentence.
The family of Johnny Hincapie (foreground, left to right) brother Alejandro Hincapie, father Carlos Hincapie and mother Maria Hincapie, gather outside Manhattan Supreme Court, where their lawyer Ron Kuby announced he was seeking a new trial to overturn the murder conviction.

JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The family of Johnny Hincapie (foreground, left to right) brother Alejandro Hincapie, father Carlos Hincapie and mother Maria Hincapie, gather outside Manhattan Supreme Court, where their lawyer Ron Kuby announced he was seeking a new trial to overturn the murder conviction.

"We’re just all very happy that the truth is finally coming out. It's been a struggle," said Hincapie's brother Alex, 38.
What hindered the truth from coming out previously?
Hincapie was an 18-year-old senior at Bayside High School in Queens and was an aspiring dancer at the time of Watkins' murder.
His mother, Maria, described him as "full of joy and love" and said he's "been supporting us from prison, helping us to keep living, keep believing."
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is reviewing the motion and did not have an immediate comment.

15 comments:

Tania Cadogan said...

"Johnny was ahead of me on the stairs as I was running up the steps," Montero wrote in an affidavit that accompanied the motion. "Johnny couldn't have had nothing to do with the crime. He wasn't here. I saw him on the electric stairs while the crime was happening."

This stuck me as odd.

Motero says in reference to Johnny "he wasn't here

Johnny was on the stairs whilst he (motero) was running up the steps.

If motero saw him on the moving stairs that would place him here.

Since he tells us where johnny wasn't making it sensitive, where was johnny?
If he wasn't here he had to be there, where was the there?

Anonymous said...

OT Family disputes gay server's story:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/26/21625339-family-disputes-gay-servers-story?lite

Sounds a lot like the other waitress with "none N*****r" written on the receipt. Lots of people sending money to this person too.

elf said...

{Luis Montero}
"Johnny was ahead of me on the stairs as I was running up the steps.
*** WHATS THE DIFFERNCE BETWEEN STEPS AND STAIRS? WHY THE CHANGE OF LANGUAGE?
*** USING PAST TENSE.

Johnny couldn't have had nothing to do with the crime.
***COULDNT HAVE HAD NOTHING- DO 2 NEGATIVES EQUEL A POSITIVE? COULDNT MEANS COULD NOT. NOTHING MEANS NIL.ZERO.ZILCH. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER TO SAY JOHNNY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CRIME OR JOHNNY COULDNT HAVE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CRIME.
>>>Is this sentence the truth? Johnny couldn't have had nothing to do with the crime? If he couldn't have had nothing to do with the crime that seems to me to he saying Johnny had plenty to do with the crime...
*** Uses past tense.

He wasn't here.
***USES PRESENT TENSE- HERE INSTEAD OF THERE.

I saw him on the electric stairs while the crime was happening.
***BACK TO PAST TENSE.
***ANOTHER CHANGE IN LANGUAGE. STAIRS INSTEAD OF STEPS WITH THE ADDITIONAL WORD ELECTRIC.

To me this sounds deceptive. Like Luis Montero knows that Johnny did have something to do with the crime BECAUSE he COULDNT HAVE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CRIME.
there's marbles rolling around in here again lol

elf said...

Explicate- analyze and develop (an idea or principal) in detail.
Why would he need to analyze or develop what happened the evening of the murder? Perhaps he was just throwing a big word in there without knowing the true meaning? Or did he have to 'develop' his idea of how the murder happened? Why use the word explicate(not an every day word) instead of 'explain' or 'describe' or even the word 'tell'?

Skeptical said...

I am confused. Was there an escalator next to the stairs and Johnny was on the escalator and Luis Montero was running up a staircase beside it? Would Luis Montero use stairs for the escalator (electric stairs) and steps for the staircase?

I am also assuming Luis Montero was Hispanic. If so the double negative would be natural if his first language is Spanish.

Why is explicate noted? Explicate means to make known fully so others understand.

Considering all the instances of corruption that have been exposed about the N.Y.P.D. (they got the Central Park jogger case wrong) I don't doubt that they did what Mr. Hicape accused them of.

Anonymous said...

He wasn't here.
was he pointing at a crime scene photo when he said that?

John Mc Gowan said...

"I proceeded to explicate what had transpired during the evening of the incident and that the first time I found out anything concerning a crime with someone dying in the subway station was while watching the news."

I find his language some what passive.

"Incident" = Stabbing.

"crime" = Murder.

"Someone dying in the subway" = killed.

Why minimise it to an "incident" ?.

Also.

"that the first time I found out anything concerning a crime with someone dying in the subway station was while(dropped pronoun) watching the news."

Is this a dropped pronoun though, or is this his regional dialect ?. If it is the former then we should wonder why he isn't committed and taking ownership at hearing about it on the news "first".

I would say. "While (I) was watching the news". It rolls of the tongue better. But as i say, this maybe the way he talks ?.

Anonymous said...

Cops just wanted to get anybody that night they arrested so many people coming out of the club that had nothing to do with it . You cant over analyze everything said and come up with a conclusion a lot of these statements im sure were coersed by police . I happen to think johnny had nothing to do with it. Cops just placed him close to the crime.

Anonymous said...

OT: Gay waitress hoax.

Oh, busted...right out of Charlie Rogers playbook!

Morales stuck to her story telling NBC 4 New York “I don’t know, all I know is what I’ve been saying.”

http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/26/family-lesbian-waitress-lied-about-tip-anti-gay-message/

Anonymous said...

OT: Gay waitress hoax

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gay-Server-Tip-Lifestyle-Receipt-Discrepancy-233040811.html

she said, it's nice that everyone is donating money and she "plan to send a portion" to charity, "pretty much $3000." but "it does excuse the fact or change the fact that it actually did happen"

Anonymous said...

sorry, should say, "doesn't excuse the fact..."

Anonymous said...

OT: Another Waitress Hoax

Before she was outed by the family she made the comment: "it doesn't excuse the fact or change the fact that it actually did happen"

that is when I suspected it was not true.

I'd love to hear Johns take on her body language. They are many good statements and video clips.

Anonymous said...

Peter, could you please analyze the 911 call of Deputy Jeremy Banks, who was the subject of a Frontline episode tonight? His girlfriend was killed (ruled a suicide but a possible homicide). The New York Times just published an article about the case, and the audio and transcript of the 911 call are about half way down this page:
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Mc Gowan said...

Body Language waitress fraud.?

In this 1st clip, when Morales says.

"I'm donating pretty much (3) thousands dollars" there are 2 different body language movements going on at the same time.

"I'm donating pretty much (3) thousands dollars"

When she says "I'm donating" she nods her head up and down, this is congruent with her words, this is a good sign.

She then says.

"Pretty much (3) thousand dollars"

Here we see her shrug her shoulders. The shoulder-shrug is a universal sign of resignation, uncertainty, and submissiveness. Shrug cues may modify, counteract, or contradict verbal remarks. With the statement, "Yes, I'm sure," e.g., a lifted shoulder suggests, "I'm not so sure." A shrug reveals misleading, ambiguous, or uncertain areas in dialogue and oral testimony, and thus may provide a probing point, i.e., an opportunity to examine an unverbalized belief or opinion. NVD

In other words she is unsure how much, if any, of the money she will donate. And by using the words "Pretty much" we can hear her doubt, this is also congruent body language. It will be interesting to see how much she does donate if any ?.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gay-Server-Tip-Lifestyle-Receipt-Discrepancy-233040811.html

In this second clip @ 1:32, the she is asked "Is it possible that you just made it up because this isn't their handwriting, and this isn't how they left the cheque"

Morales replies. "Ahh that's not my handwriting I don't know, again i don't know"

Again we see the shoulder shrug. Here though it is different. She is being asked a direct question. In this context it bears an interesting relationship to the English word, just, as in, "I don't know why I took the money--I just took it." In this sense, "just" conveys a feeling of powerlessness and uncertainty as to motive. The word also connotes "merely," as in "Just a scratch" (Soukhanov 1992:979). These diminutive aspects of the word "just" resonate with the cringing, crouched aspect of the shoulder-shrug cue.
In other words has been caught with her hands in the cookie jar ?.

Caveat:


The shoulder rise/shrug, is not indicative of deception (there is NO single behavior indicative of deception) and it must not be construed that way but rather as an indicator of lack of confidence.

http://www.today.com/orangeroom/family-denies-not-leaving-tip-gay-waitress-2D11658371