Fernando Bermudez is Innocent part 2 — Transcript

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1. 0:00to August 4th 1991 it must have been a
2. 0:04span of 12 to 13 hours I was with
3. 0:06Fernando and I told him what we did that
4. 0:09night where we went where where we ate
5. 0:11where we where we stopped where we went
6. 0:14to how many women we spoke to that night
7. 0:17and I could just see that they were
8. 0:19frustrated at me that they you know they
9. 0:21thought I was must have telling uh lies
10. 0:25but I I I consistently told him that I
11. 0:27was telling the truth that I had nothing
12. 0:30to do with this Fernando had nothing to
13. 0:32do with this I was with him the whole
14. 0:35time and I never left him out of my
15. 0:39sight and they were just attacking me
16. 0:42like if I had a part in the murder you
17. 0:44know they they were telling me things
18. 0:45that I couldn't believe and I felt very
19. 0:49frustrated at them because I thought if
20. 0:52by me just going down there to tell the
21. 0:54truth they were going to believe this
22. 0:57and you know and set Fernando free
23. 1:00but it didn't come down to that they
24. 1:02just said you know take a written
25. 1:05statement down and um that's all we
26. 1:09needed from you at this time and if they
27. 1:11needed me for anything else they would
28. 1:12get in contact with me the
29. 1:14prosecutor just asked me repeated
30. 1:18questions you know trying to switch them
31. 1:20around I don't know for what reason
32. 1:22trying to ask me trying to like in a way
33. 1:25play with my head asking me questions in
34. 1:27a way almost to trick me and I don't
35. 1:30understand why he was doing that because
36. 1:31I gave him straightforward answers and I
37. 1:34knew where I was that night and he still
38. 1:36didn't believe me he even pounded on the
39. 1:38table and told me that I would be
40. 1:40sentenced to 15th to life if I didn't
41. 1:42cooperate with
42. 1:44him when I was arrested and after I gave
43. 1:48my detailed account of where I was that
44. 1:50night who I was with and what I did I
45. 1:52was then told in order to call my lawyer
46. 1:56or my mother that I had to uh partic
47. 1:59participate in a
48. 2:01lineup and I participated in a lineup
49. 2:04also because I felt I had nothing to
50. 2:07hide and I felt that as soon as
51. 2:09I acques to all the requests that they
52. 2:12had that shortly this would be over with
53. 2:16this man was with Raymond blunt that
54. 2:18night altercations brewed and somebody
55. 2:20ran across the street and shot my friend
56. 2:22Raymond what did he look like he was a
57. 2:25little bit taller than myself Hispanic
58. 2:29about 100 50 lb to close the case police
59. 2:32rushed to get Bermudas into a lineup but
60. 2:35instead of having the 210 lb Bermudas
61. 2:37stand police seated all the suspects to
62. 2:40disguise my height you know because had
63. 2:43I been probably standing they would have
64. 2:45seen that they was definitely mistaken
65. 2:47did Fernando ever stand up no he didn't
66. 2:50and then there was the lineup now many
67. 2:52are done in rooms like these the
68. 2:53subjects stand across so the witnesses
69. 2:55can identify them through the oneway
70. 2:57mirror but in this case the subjects
71. 2:59were seated and that could have caused
72. 3:01real confusion among the witnesses
73. 3:03because there was a discrepancy about
74. 3:04the height of the shooter he looked very
75. 3:06similar at least facially to wo similar
76. 3:09except for his size the witnesses said
77. 3:12the shooter was 59 150 lb Bermudez was
78. 3:16much bigger 62 230 you can't tell that
79. 3:19from a photo and the lineup was done
80. 3:22with suspects sitting down and I was
81. 3:24told to sit
82. 3:25down
83. 3:28and pick a number
84. 3:30and sit down with a bunch of police
85. 3:33Cadets who also held
86. 3:39numbers the star witness for the
87. 3:42prosecution was efon Lopez when the
88. 3:44fight broke out the night of the murder
89. 3:47Lopez was at the center of the melee
90. 3:49Witnesses said that Lopez pointed out
91. 3:51the victim Ray blown to whoever fired
92. 3:53the shots this led police to conclude
93. 3:56that Lopez knew the shooter I seen go
94. 3:59when he pulled it out but he was taken
95. 4:00to a nearby precin and questioned for 27
96. 4:03hours before the police videotaped his
97. 4:05statement assistant District Attorney
98. 4:07James Rodriguez did not turn over an
99. 4:10exculpatory tape that he should have
100. 4:12turned over firstly he should have
101. 4:13turned it over at the very beginning
102. 4:14soon after the arrest of Fernando munas
103. 4:17because a motion had been made by an
104. 4:20Omnibus motion had been made by the
105. 4:22defense attorney asking for Rosario
106. 4:24material and Brady material and
107. 4:26statements and identifications and
108. 4:28asking for all of this material to be
109. 4:30turned over and it was not then at the
110. 4:34Wade hearing this tape was not turned
111. 4:36over no one knew it existed except the
112. 4:38prosecutor my name is James Rodriguez
113. 4:41I'm an assistant DA in New York County
114. 4:43and uh with me also president is
115. 4:46detective Daniel massova from the six
116. 4:47pring Squad that information was not
117. 4:50turned over until the eve of trial that
118. 4:53would have helped the defendant plan his
119. 4:56defense that would have exonerated him
120. 4:59he would have had time to investigate
121. 5:01where the shooter lived who the shooter
122. 5:04was you have to show the tape slowly you
123. 5:07have to study the tape and all the truth
124. 5:09will become very very clear what is your
125. 5:12first name and last name Ean Lopez and
126. 5:15are you known by any nicknames Pinto
127. 5:18Pinto yeah what does that mean it's
128. 5:20whistle in Spanish okay are you known by
129. 5:22the nickname shorty no it's PTO if
130. 5:25somebody who don't know me they'll call
131. 5:27me shorty because I'm small but my name
132. 5:28is PTO
133. 5:30have people called you shorty in the
134. 5:31past yeah because of people who I really
135. 5:34know but once I get to know them my name
136. 5:35is PTO that's my nickname how old are
137. 5:38you 16 where do you
138. 5:43live in Manhattan yeah how long have you
139. 5:46lived there for like 3 years who do you
140. 5:49live there with a mother do you go to
141. 5:52school no I was reg this September what
142. 5:56what what are you doing now nothing just
143. 5:59hanging out yeah and where do you hang
144. 6:05out what do you do there playing
145. 6:08handball basketball baseball M the
146. 6:11prosecutor has never turned over the
147. 6:13tape without the rejection I mean
148. 6:16filling in the spots he has never turned
149. 6:19over the full full Rosario statement you
150. 6:22have go down to the mark Ballroom yeah
151. 6:25how long how many times you been there
152. 6:27the Saturday was my first day of went
153. 6:29there who'd you go there with a friend
154. 6:31of mine Anthony what's his last name I
155. 6:34don't know his last name where do you
156. 6:35know Anthony from from 90th Street what
157. 6:38time did you get to the mark Ballroom
158. 6:40probably got there about 12 or close to
159. 6:43one how old are you 16 mhm what's your
160. 6:47date of birth
161. 6:499374 okay and uh you're
162. 6:5416 who knew who knew the club Anthony
163. 6:58because he had they have fly
164. 7:00M for the club it was called R room why'
165. 7:04you go down there cuz I just came out
166. 7:05that Saturday so I wanted to go to a
167. 7:07party came out from where from work
168. 7:10relas I was my pass on Saturday to
169. 7:14Wednesday and that's when he asked me if
170. 7:16I want to go to my room and I said yeah
171. 7:19mhm so what else did he say to you that
172. 7:22was it then he knew you from Rikers yeah
173. 7:23that's what he was telling his friend
174. 7:24about Viking that's when I said do you
175. 7:26know me which I was in VI and I got
176. 7:28jumped in VI so I approached him and
177. 7:30said do you know me so he probably took
178. 7:32it wrong by the way I said it but I came
179. 7:34you know snotty and that's when he hit
180. 7:36me and I swung back at him and his
181. 7:38friend that's when he punched me on the
182. 7:40side of my mouth right here that's who
183. 7:43you with who was that with with Anthony
184. 7:47Anthony saw this and when the second guy
185. 7:49hit me that's when he pushed me away CU
186. 7:51When one guy hit me he didn't do nothing
187. 7:53I was fighting him and when the other
188. 7:54guy hit me that's when he pushes away
189. 7:56and then the guys that was working there
190. 7:58they br both of us upstairs where dides
191. 8:00Anthony live on 9 Street what's the
192. 8:03building number he lives in one of the
193. 8:05projects because he hangs out on on 92nd
194. 8:07behind my grandma's building what's his
195. 8:08telephone number I don't have his number
196. 8:10that's when they broke it up and they
197. 8:12took us upstairs and the two guys I was
198. 8:15up there they had bats that work in the
199. 8:17place and they was talking about they
200. 8:19don't want no more problems over there
201. 8:20to squash I all that I didn't say
202. 8:23nothing to him or I a say nothing to the
203. 8:25kid I just went back downstairs when I
204. 8:27went downstairs I called my grandmother
205. 8:28I told my grandmother what happened this
206. 8:31was probably like like 2:30 I called my
207. 8:35grandmother and then I called when I
208. 8:37after I talk to my grandmother I went
209. 8:38back in why did you call your
210. 8:40grandmother cuz I tell my grandmother
211. 8:42everything so in case I would happen she
212. 8:43knew where I was
213. 8:46at I mean weren't you going to go home
214. 8:48that night yeah so couldn't wait until
215. 8:51you got home I just called her to
216. 8:53explain to what happened the case time
217. 8:54what happened to me she knew where I was
218. 8:56at well you knew somebody was going to
219. 8:57shoot the guy who punched you right
220. 8:59that's you want heard to now no I was
221. 9:01just explaining to what happened the
222. 9:03guys the guys that was there I didn't
223. 9:04even see him yet mhm that's when it now
224. 9:07when I went back inside that's when I
225. 9:08seen him and I approached him I was like
226. 9:10yo what's up and he was like what
227. 9:12happened I said I had a fight with this
228. 9:13kid and he a saying there and after that
229. 9:16wait a minute did when's the first time
230. 9:17you saw this guy who came up and asked
231. 9:19you what happened was he inside or
232. 9:20outside he was inside and was he by
233. 9:23himself when he asked you what happened
234. 9:24he he by himself at that time and then
235. 9:26what happened and then I post him and I
236. 9:28was like what's up I see him on my way
237. 9:30you know and I approached him I was like
238. 9:32what's up and then he see my he was like
239. 9:34what happened I said I had a fight but
240. 9:36then he a say nothing and like 2 minutes
241. 9:37after that there was a gunshot in there
242. 9:40and that's when they everybody started
243. 9:41running up once everybody started
244. 9:43running up I was outside and that's when
245. 9:45he came and then you know everybody
246. 9:47started coming out so the kid came out
247. 9:48with a crowd you know a couple of his
248. 9:50friends which kid the one who bunched
249. 9:52you yeah he came out with a there was
250. 9:53two guys who punched you or was the same
251. 9:55guy punched you twice no two guys
252. 9:57punched me I didn't see the other guy