| In SDNY Jury Convicts Ralph
Berry of 2000 Bronx Murder After US Pushes For
Bad Acts In
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 28 -- Near 751 East 161st
Street in the South Bronx on
June 21, 2000, Caprice Jones
was shot and
killed.
On January
30, 2020 - twenty years later
- a sealed indictment was
signed by U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Magistrate Judge
James L. Cott, for the arrest
of Frank Lopez and Ralph Berry
on capital murder charges for
the death of Caprice Jones, in
connection with both men's
alleged crack sales.
On February
7 in Texas, Frank Lopez was
arrested. And four full weeks
later on March 4, Frank Lopez
was presented and arraigned in
SDNY Magistrates Court, with
Inner City Press the only
media present.
Lopez was
brought in by U.S. Marshals;
his assigned counsel said he
has high blood pressure and
acid reflux. He also displayed
heavy tattoos.
Assistant
US Attorney Domenic Gentile
said the government sought
detention, in which Lopez'
assigned counsel consented
without prejudice.
On October
27, Judge Alison J. Nathan
held a proceeding with Lopez
and his co-defendant Ralph
Berry on the line. Judge
Nathan told AUSA Gentile to
get Main Justice's capital
decision within 30 days.
He replied
that they would not give a
date, but were confident it
would be in a month. Judge
Nathan relied on that
confidence, and set the next
conference for December 9 at
11 am. Inner City Press again
called in.
Judge
Nathan set a trial date, for
September 13, 2021, with both
defendants still in detention.
There was talk of
redacting names of possible
witnesses, because they are
just that: possible witnesses.
On August 16,
2021 - with the trial pushed
back to September 21 - the US
filed a motion in limine to
"permit it to introduce at
trial evidence of other bad
acts committed by Berry" --
selling crack in the McKinley
Housing Development and a 1998
murder for hire conspiracy."
Now on September
28, Berry was found guilty by
a unanimous Manhattan jury for
the murder of Caprice Jones in
the vicinity of 751 East 161
Street, Bronx, New York.
Berry will be sentenced before
the Honorable U.S. District
Judge Alison J. Nathan, who
presided over the jury trial.
At 12:45
pm on September 28, as Judge
Nathan began another
proceeding on a VOSR, Inner
City Press noted AUSA Gentile
and at least two other SDNY
prosecutors coming out of 40
Foley Square, in a light rain.
The case is
US v. Berry, 20-cr-84
(Nathan).
***
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