A Roosevelt man who spent more than two years in jail had charges of attempted murder dismissed by Nassau County prosecutors last week, according to the district attorney’s office.
Malcolm Griffin faced various charges, including attempted murder, for a 2016 shooting in Roosevelt that resulted in a cab driver being shot in the face and losing an eye, Brendan Brosh, communications director for the Nassau County district attorney, said in a statement last week. Brosh said Griffin was arrested in December 2019 and was in jail awaiting a trial, scheduled for early January 2022.
The district attorney’s office, upon further investigation, found that an individual who allegedly witnessed the incident was not truthful, Brosh said. The findings were “immediately brought” to the attention of the court and the defense counsel, seeking to have Griffin released from jail, according to Brosh.
“The administration of District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly is committed to doing justice and protecting the rights of the public, victims, and all defendants,” Brosh continued. “As a result, today, the NCDA has moved to dismiss the pending charges against Mr. Griffin.”
Brosh said the investigation into the 2016 incident remains ongoing.
Griffin’s attorney, Joseph Lo Piccolo, told Newsday, “Prosecutors did not have to share discovery with the defense or defendant until nearly two years later and he stayed in jail the whole time.”
Efforts to reach Lo Piccolo for further comment were unavailing.
Lo Piccolo also told Newsday that an informant provided false information to police which contradicted the cabdriver’s account.
