Weeks from start of trial, judge orders emergency meeting in Churaman case
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Queens Supreme Court Judge Kenneth Holder has called for an unscheduled conference in the case of Prakash Churaman (right), several weeks before the start of his retrial. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
A Queens Supreme Court judge has called for an unscheduled conference in the case of Prakash Churaman, who is weeks away from being tried a second time for the 2014 murder of 21-year-old Taquane Clark.
Queens Supreme Court Judge Kenneth Holder has ordered Churaman, his attorney Jose Nieves and Queens prosecutors to appear in court on Tuesday, May 10, to discuss the contents of a story recently published in Hell Gate, a new online New York City publication.
The outlet reported Wednesday that the two detectives who interrogated Churaman at the time of his arrest, when he was 15 years old, were the subject of a recent $2 million settlement paid by the city after the duo and eight other detectives allegedly withheld exonerating evidence in a 2015 Queens murder case.
Sharing similarities with Churaman’s case, Nieves argues that the settlement has relevance in Churaman’s upcoming re-trial and that prosecutors should have submitted the information into discovery.
“It’s very concerning to me that this information was provided to me by the press [and not by the DA’s office],” Nieves, a former candidate for Queens district attorney, told the Eagle.
On Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours after the story was published, Holder called for the unscheduled appearance to discuss the content of the article, according to Nieves.
“This story has basically prompted Judge Holder to call an unscheduled, and almost emergency court appearance so that we can discuss what ramifications this story has on this case and whether this story is going to become an issue with jury selection,” Nieves said. “That’s the purpose of the court appearance, to have both parties present and for the judge to articulate his concerns.”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz inherited Churaman’s case from former Queens District Attorney Richard Brown but was in office when the now-22-year-old defendant successfully petitioned to have his original conviction overturned on the grounds that Holder had improperly prevented the defense from calling an expert on juvenile confessions as a witness.
“It's an ongoing case – it’s something I can't talk about outside of court,” Katz told the Eagle on Thursday. “But it is a prosecution that is coming up soon and the people stand ready.”
A spokesperson for the Queens district attorney’s office denied that prosecutors had violated discovery laws by not sharing information about the settlement with the defense. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether or not the district attorney’s office was aware of the recent settlement.
“We are ever cognizant of our discovery obligations and confident we have met them,” the spokesperson said.
Churaman, who maintains his innocence in the case, was arrested in 2014 on felony murder charges. Though prosecutors do not allege that Churaman pulled the trigger that killed Clark, they are allowed to charge him under the felony murder rule – the rule, which is used in over 40 states, says that if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, the death can be charged as murder for all participants in the alleged felony, even if they had no intention to kill or had no role in it.
Prosecutors say Churaman was one of the intruders in a 2014 Jamaica home robbery gone wrong. Churaman is accused of joining two others in the break-in of one of Churaman’s friend’s home. One of the intruders fatally shot Clark and injured another.
An elderly woman who lived in the home during the robbery later told police that while she was being held up by the intruders, she recognized Churaman’s voice and identified him as one of the suspects.
The “earwitness” is allegedly the only piece of evidence tying him to the scene.
Churaman says he was coerced into confessing to participating in the murder by Brown, who also the led the interrogation of Chanel Lewis, the man charged in the 2014 killing of Karina Vetrano in Howard Beach. Lewis later said that he too was coerced into confessing to the crime.
Churaman, who spent four years as a teen detained on Rikers Island and several more in a New York prison, has been on house arrest, living with his mother and newborn child in their Queens home since his conviction was overturned in 2020.
He turned down a plea deal from the district attorney in the months following his overturned conviction, insisting he get the chance to prove his innocence. Since then, the lead up to his trial has been contentious.
Both the defense and prosecution have repeatedly accused one another of purposely delaying the start of the retrial, which is currently scheduled for late June, when Holder is expected to wrap up an unrelated felony murder trial.
Additionally, a group of Churaman’s supporters have flocked to the courthouse for nearly all of his recent appearances and he has, at times, joined them. Holder scolded Churaman for participating in the rallys during a January hearing.
“[Churaman] is only out because of the consideration of this court and I have made considerations for him in order to continue to have his case go forward – it doesn't allow him to be at rallies in support of what – he has enough people running around doing that from what I can see,” Holder said in January, according to a court transcript.
“I haven't told him to shut up, I haven't put a gag order on this, I haven't put a gag order on you. I am considering it, but I haven't done it,” he added.
Tuesday’s appearance will mark the 96th time Churaman has appeared in Queens Criminal Court in relation to the case.
