Ride the Lightning

SURPRISE WITNESS: A METROCARD

November 19, 2008

In today’s New York Times, an unexpected witness (a MetroCard) made an appearance. Every time we think we’ve seen every possible form of electronic evidence, something else comes along.

In May, Jason Jones was arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in the Bronx after a witness tied him to the shooting. He told police what now appears to be the truth. He had left work, ridden the bus with co-workers, cashed his paycheck and took the subway to see his girlfriend.

Federal prosecutors charged Jason and his older brother Corey in the shooting, alleging that they had shot the victim because he had been a government witness in drug and gun cases.

A retired detective, working for Jason’s lawyers, retrieved Jason’s wallet from a city jail. His lawyers went to the New York City Transit and asked for an account of his movement on the night of the shooting. Sure enough, the evidence showed that the card has been used on a bus and later on subway five miles away from the shooting. It turns out that centralized computers store data on where and when the cards are used, retrieving the information from buses and subway turnstiles. The lawyers also had a photo of Jason as he cashed his paycheck, as well as the time at which he stamped out from his job as a forklift operator. It appeared that it was impossible for him to have committed the crime and both Jason and his brother have been released on bond while prosecutors continue to investigate the case.

Judge Marrero, who had originally refused bond, even paraphrased the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (THAT doesn’t happen often), saying “The river now flowing by is not the same river that passed by yesterday.”

The moral of the story? Hang on to those MetroCards. You never know when you might need an alibi.

Hat tip to friends and attorneys Susan Butler and Carl Roberts for sending the story along.

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