Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced his Office moved to vacate the conviction and dismiss the indictment of Harry Ruiz, for the murder of 23-year-old Emmanuel Felix in 1993. Mr. Ruiz was 25-years-old when he was convicted by a jury and served 25 years in prison before he was paroled in 2019.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert Mandelbaum approved a motion to vacate the conviction and dismiss the indictment based on newly discovered evidence. The matter was first brought to the attention of the Post-Conviction Justice Unit (PCJU), by New York City Police Department Cold Case Detective Carlos Vasquez. PCJU then conducted a joint reinvestigation in collaboration with Mr. Ruiz’s defense counsel.
“Harry Ruiz has always maintained his innocence,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Our thorough reinvestigation included dozens of witness interviews and in-depth document review, which uncovered new evidence that significantly undermines the case presented at trial in 1994. While Mr. Ruiz has already served 25 years in prison, his name deserves to be permanently cleared.”
On August 29, 1993, Emmanuel Felix was shot in the head on Amsterdam Avenue between West 135th and West 136th Streets. Four days after the incident, a 13-year-old eyewitness identified Harry Ruiz as the shooter, who was subsequently arrested.
Mr. Ruiz’s trial occurred in November of 1994. When the teenage eyewitness was asked to identify the shooter at trial, she initially picked out an audience member sitting in the courtroom, before eventually identifying Mr. Ruiz.
Two other witnesses also present at the time of the murder, described the shooter but testified that they had not seen his face, and never specifically identified Mr. Ruiz.
Mr. Ruiz’s defense attorney called several witnesses, including three family members as alibi witnesses who testified he was in their apartment at the time of the shooting.
The jury convicted him on Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and the judge sentenced him to 25 years-to-life on the murder charge.
PCJU opened its reinvestigation in January 2024, and interviewed two individuals, “J.M.” and “K.B.,” who had been charged by federal prosecutors in separate matters.
In his federal proffer, J.M. stated that he ran a drug organization in the 1990’s and admitted to hiring a man known as “Shorty” to murder Mr. Felix. J.M. stated that he had paid $4,000 to “Shorty” prior to the murder, and $4,000 upon completion. He also signed an affidavit stating that the person he hired to commit the crime, “Shorty” was not Mr. Ruiz.
While in federal custody, “K.B.” told law enforcement that J.M. and Mr. Felix had conflict over drug territory and confirmed the murder-for-hire account.
Associates of J.M., K.B., and Mr. Felix all confirmed the underlying murder-for-hire account, and the PCJU reinvestigation found no connection between Mr. Ruiz and J.M.
At the time of the initial investigation and subsequent trial, the teenage eyewitness and her mother received more than $17,000 in lodging, living expenses and transportation payments from the Office. The Office had also requested that the New York City Housing Authority expedite the family’s application for public housing. The reinvestigation was unable to find any record documenting whether this information had been disclosed to the defense prior to trial.
Since its creation in 2022, PCJU has successfully moved to vacate 14 convictions, including 8 homicide convictions.
The investigation was led by Assistant District Attorney Talia Gooding-Williams, former Assistant DA Sheryl Anania with assistance from Investigative Analysts Ilana Gut and Rochelle Rader; Investigators Randy Dasilva, and Christo Christonikos. The investigation was conducted under the supervision of Deputy General Counsel Terri Rosenblatt, Unit Chief, Shalena Howard, Deputy Unit Chief, Willoughby Jenett, and PCJU Supervisor Karina Patel.
The office thanks New York City Police Detective Carlos Vasquez and the United States Attorney’s Office of New York for the Southern District.
###