Queens DA moves to dismiss charges against
three men in 1996 Astoria double murder
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 11-JUNE 17, 2021 9
BY BILL PARRY
Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz on Friday, June
4, moved to dismiss charges
against three men wrongfully
convicted in an infamous 1996
double murder of an NYPD officer
and the owner of an Astoria
check cashing business
during an attempted robbery.
George Bell, Gary Johnson
and Rohan Bolt spent nearly
25 years in prison before they
were released without bail
from the upstate Green Haven
Correctional Facility in Stormville
in March after Queens
Administrative Judge Joseph
Zayas vacated their wrongful
convictions, citing prosecutorial
misconduct.
“Today, my office moved to
dismiss indictments against
George Bell, Gary Johnson
and Rohan Bolt, who were
convicted of the Dec. 21, 1996,
murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein
and NYPD Police Officer
Charles Davis during a robbery
attempt of Mr. Epstein’s
check cashing business,” Katz
said in a statement. “This follows
a thorough, three-month
investigation by Executive
Assistant District Attorney
Pishoy Yacoub.”
The three men were originally
convicted in the Dec. 21,
1996, murders of Ira Epstein,
the owner of an Astoria check
cashing business, and off-duty
NYPD officer Charles Davis,
who was working as a security
guard at Epstein’s business.
However, the DA’s Conviction
Integrity Unit recently found
that the trial prosecutors
inadvertently failed to disclose
records that would have
helped the defendants’ case, as
required by law.
The DA’s team said they
found documents suggesting
that a gang called “Speedstick”
may have instead been behind
the slaying, after one of its
members copped to committing
the robbery gone wrong
to authorities.
Additionally, one of the
prosecution’s star witnesses —
a man who accused Bell, Johnson
and Bolt of committing the
crime — was found to have a
history of mental illness and
was experiencing hallucinations
around the time of the
murder.
“There can be no true justice,
in Queens County or
anywhere else, unless we hold
ourselves to the highest standards
facilitating the process
by which justice is sought,”
Katz said. “My commitment to
the effort continues.”
Brad Leventhal resigned as
the Homicide Bureau Chief in
the DA’s office in late March
after he was accused by Judge
Zayas of withholding evidence
from the defense, including
testimony claiming someone
else committed the double
murder.
Read more on QNS.com.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz moves to dismiss charges against three men in a 1996 Astoria
double murder case after they spent nearly a quarter-century behind bars. Photo via GoFundMe
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