Whoops! Brooklyn prosecutors admit wrong man identified in videotaped assault, charges dismissed
A Brooklyn man can rest easy now that he has been cleared of assault charges after his lawyer noticed a discrepancy in the videoed assault. This case calls into question the reliability of eyewitness identifications, emboldens the demand for police body cameras and points to a definite change of the guard in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Video surveillance footage shows the March attack of pregnant woman Mia Jones by two men with tightly tied gray hoodies. Jones identified Elijah Green as the man holding her while Jones’ boyfriend, Torey Branch, repeatedly hit her in her stomach, killing her 7-month-old fetus.
Based on the victim’s account and identification, Green was arrested on assault charges. Facing 25 years behind bars, Green made a terrified visit to attorney Kenneth Montgomery’s law office on Rogers Avenue in the Prospect-Lefferts neighborhood in Brooklyn.