Josue Ortiz - False Confession / Police Misconduct

Ortiz, Josue; manslaughter; NRE: plea, false confession, police officer misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence

Suggestibility issues

2018 WL 8620414; W.D.N.Y. 5/18/18; civil suit

"On or about November 11, 2004, Miguel and Nelson Camacho were murdered...On or about November 16, 2004, [Ortiz] was questioned, admitted killing the Camacho brothers, and was arrested...[Ortiz] pled guilty to the murders of the Camacho brothers.

"Meanwhile, the [FBI] and the U.S. Attorney's office conducted an investigation of the 10th Street and 7th Street gangs, learning that three other men were responsible for the Camacho murders..."

from Records and Briefs (civil):

[5] [FN2:] "Ortiz's guilty confession and guilty plea was based upon a false and erroneous confession given to the Buffalo Police at a time when he was suffering from a severe psychotic break from reality, exacerbated by sleep deprivation, drug use and a limited command of the English language...DNA evidence excluded him from the crime scene as well as from items of evidence found at or near the scene...Moreover, the details of the murders that he gave police did not match the physical evidence (weapon, ballistics, number of killers, etc.) and eyewitness accounts of persons fleeing the scene. For example, police records listed Ortiz as between 6'3" and 6'6" tall and weighing between 280-330 lbs. ...Witnesses observed three (3) males about 5'5" tall and of medium build fleeing the scene."

[The fact that Ortiz was allowed to plead guilty to something that every bit of the actual evidence in this case clearly showed he did not do is a damning indictment of Buffalo and Erie County. And it's not like this is an old case: All of these events took place in the 21st century, long after DNA had become a well-established forensic tool.]

from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"On November 11, 2004, 25-year-old Miguel Camacho and his 36-year-old brother Nelsobn Camacho were gunned down in Buffalo...Police believed the killings were drug-related.

"Several days later, police said 22-year-old Josue Ortiz flagged a police car and declared that he had committed the crime. He was taken to a police station and confessed to the crime.

"Ortiz was charged with the murders and pled guilty to two counts of first-degree manslaughter in Erie County...in 2006. The plea came after lengthy court proceedings about Ortiz's mental competency because he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

"In 2012, the case against Ortiz came under question when a re-investigation by the New York State Police and the FBI resulted in federal prosecutors charging three gang members -- Brandon Jonas, Efrain 'Cheko' Hidalgo and Misael Montalvo -- with the same murders that Ortiz pled guilty to. Hidalgo and Montalvo, according to federal prosecutors, admitted their roles in the killings. Investigators learned that the murders were committed as part of a drug ring's operation in Buffalo.

"Initially, the Erie County [DA's] Office did not believe that the evidence exonerated Ortiz because evidence suggested four men were involved -- three who were seen running from the scene and Montalvo, who said he waited in a car during the shooting.

"John Nuchereno, attorney for Ortiz, began investigating and ultimately was able to persuade an Erie County...judge to order a hearing on a post-conviction petition for a new trial. However, before the hearing, Nuchereno was diagnosed with leukemia, and had to step aside. Attorneys James Auricchio and Jeremy Schwartz were appointed to conduct the hearing.

"As Auricchio and Schwartz prepared for the hearing, they discovered numerous forensic reports prepared by the Erie County crime lab that showed that Ortiz's clothing recovered from his home did not have a trace of evidence linking him to the scene.

"They also discovered a crime lab analysis of all the footprints found in the blood surrounding the victims. Ortiz wore size 15 shoes and there were no size 15 shoeprints in the tracks at the scene. In addition, Ortiz's shoes, which were recovered when he was arrested, were as white and clean as the day he bought them. None of these reports had been disclosed to Ortiz prior to his guilty plea.

"The defense lawyers also obtained additional DNA testing that linked the three suspects to the scene of the crime. The testing did not connect Ortiz to the crime.

"When those documents were revealed, [ADA] Michael Felicetta began re-investigating the defense claim that Ortiz was innocent. During the review, Louis Camacho, a surviving brother of the victims, told authorities that he saw suspects running from the scene of the shooting. He said he knew Ortiz -- who is 6 feet, 6 inches tall -- and that Ortiz was not one of the men he saw fleeing.

"In addition, authorities discovered that Ortiz attended the funeral of the Camacho brothers and that during the funeral, Louis Camacho may have told Ortiz details of the crimes.

"In December 2014, Ortiz's conviction was vacated and he was released on bond. In January 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charges against him.

"Ortiz subsequently filed a claim for compensation with the New York Court of Claims, which was denied in 2021. By then, Hidalgo, Jonas, and Montalvo had pled guilty in federal court."

"In April 2016, lawyers for Ortiz filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Buffalo police department."

"On May 10, 2022, a federal judge awarded Ortiz $6.5 million in damages from the City of Buffalo and an officer involved in his wrongful conviction."

[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]