Queens man won't face new trial after attempted murder conviction overturned for prosecutorial misconduct
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Queens DA Melinda Katz will not retry Robert Majors, whose 2001 attempted murder conviction was overturned last. Photo courtesy of Tom Hoffman
By David Brand
A Queens man whose 2001 attempted murder conviction was overturned as a result of serious misconduct by prosecutors will not face a new trial after District Attorney Melinda Katz decided to dismiss the case.
Robert Majors had been convicted of attempted murder, armed robbery and weapons possession after prosecutors said he participated in a 1997 armored truck heist in Flushing that left two guards, including an off-duty cop, critically wounded. He was sentenced to 62 years to life in prison.
Majors has maintained his innocence since his arrest and, in May, a Queens judge reversed the attempted murder and armed robbery convictions based on a key evidence-sharing violation. Judge John Latella ruled that the assistant district attorney on the case did not share a police informant’s handwritten, three-page affidavit identifying another suspect named “Rasheed” with Majors and his defense attorneys.
Despite the reversal, Majors remained behind bars at Greenhaven Correctional Facility on a weapons possession conviction — a day after the robbery, he was arrested with a bag of guns linked to the crime. He was granted parole in August and left prison without handcuffs for the first time in two decades earlier this month.
But Majors still faced the possibility of a new trial for attempted murder and armed robbery until Katz decided to dismiss the case.
In a statement to the court Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Michael Whitney said the DA’s Office still believes Majors took part in the robbery and shootout, but that retrying him would be “unduly burdensome” for the witnesses, victims and their families.
At it stands, Whitney said, Majors has already served 23 years in prison and will remain under supervision for the rest of his life.
“Lastly, and perhaps most importantly to the DA’s Office, we have been in touch with the surviving victims, both of whom are satisfied that substantial, if not perfect, justice has already been achieved in this matter without the need for an additional trial,” Whitney said.
Majors’ attorney Tom Hoffman said he and Majors are relieved by the decision to dismiss the charges, but he criticized Katz and the DA’s Office for denying the “the egregious suppression” of the signed affidavit — a violation of disclosure law known as a Brady violation.
The Queens DA’s Office under late DA Richard Brown refused to share the piece of evidence until finally handing it over in response to Majors’ tenth Freedom of Information Law request in 2018.
Hoffman urged Katz to investigate why prosecutors withheld the document.
“The pain of a wrongful conviction can never be lifted but perhaps some sense can be given to the suffering,” Hoffman said. “I hope DA Katz will conduct an investigation to find out how a Brady document could be suppressed for 20 years.”
Majors’ 2001 conviction came at bench trial after a previous jury conviction was reversed for juror misconduct.
Since his arrest in 1997, Majors has said that he picked up the duffel bag full of guns from his brother-in-law, who was also convicted of attempted murder in the armored truck heist. Majors’ brother-in-law and another co-defendant both maintained that Majors was not part of the robbery.
During a November 2019 hearing before Latella, Majors’s first attorney, William Martin, said the affidavit from the police informant naming another suspect would have completely changed his defense strategy.
“We could have done so much more, but this document was withheld,” Martin said during direct examination. “If I would have had this document, it would have given me a number of different avenues to pursue a defense of Mr. Majors.”
In his ruling to overturn the convictions, Latella said the failure to share the crucial affidavit was likely an “oversight, failure to credit the source of the information or some other factor.”
Additional reporting by Rachel Vick.
