Leroy Harris

The Crimes

In the early morning hours of May 21, 1983, 36-year-old Sergio Marocco, the owner of the New Haven nightclub Electra Bar, was ambushed as he left the club by three gunmen wearing ski masks. The gunmen took $40 from him and drove off in Mr. Marocco’s green Chevrolet Impala.

The men drove the car to a dead-end street near a public housing development and waited for people to rob. Less than an hour later, two women, 25-year-old C.S. and 27-year-old D.G., got lost looking for a bar and turned down the dead-end street. They were approached by two men, who robbed and raped them, while a third man acted as a lookout. 

The Investigation

At the time of the crime, 22-year-old Leroy “Jock” Harris lived in Brooklyn and frequently visited family members who lived in New Haven. He became a suspect based on street gossip that someone nicknamed “Jocko” was involved in the crimes. In September 1983, four months after the crimes, the three victims viewed a photographic lineup that included Mr. Harris, but they did not identify him. 

New Haven Police Detective John Dattilo subsequently reported that an informant had said that two of the assailants were Charles Myers and Jerome Downing. Detective Dattilo did not name the informant in his report.

Subsequently, in 1984, C.S. and D.G. identified Mr. Myers as one of the three men their assailants. D.G. said Mr. Myers sexually assaulted her and that she was 80% sure that Mr. Downing had assaulted C.S. Mr. Myers confessed to being involved but said he did not sexually assault either woman. Mr. Myers claimed that Mr. Downing had assaulted D.G. and that a third man, whom he did not know, assaulted C.S.

Mr. Downing and Mr. Myers were then charged with assaulting and robbing the women. During questioning, Mr. Downing implicated Mr. Harris as the third participant. According to Mr. Downing, he — not Mr. Myers — had assaulted D.G. and Mr. Harris had assaulted C.S. 

In August 1984, the victims were called to the police station and viewed a photographic lineup that included Mr. Harris. No one identified him as being involved. On Sept. 18, 1984, based on Mr. Downing’s statement, Mr. Harris was charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree sexual assault.

Mr. Harris was not in custody long. Days later, when he was in court for arraignment, another person who was incarcerated attacked the judge. During the commotion, Mr. Harris, who maintained he was innocent, walked out of the courthouse. 

On Dec. 14, 1984, Mr. Downing pled guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, all but three years suspended. On Feb. 15, 1985, Mr. Myers pled guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

On May 10, 1986, Mr. Harris was taken back into custody. He faced the original charges plus escape charges. 

In November 1986, Mr. Harris was brought to court for proceedings related to the 1984 escape. While in the lockup, three other people who were incarcerated assaulted and overpowered two sheriff’s deputies and locked them in a cell. Mr. Harris used a chair to smash open a glass panel to the guard control center and opened an exit door. All four men escaped. All four were later re-arrested. Mr. Harris was arrested in July 1988 and later was convicted of the 1986 escape. He also entered an Alford plea to charges of assaulting a peace officer and kidnapping.

The Trial

In April 1989, Mr. Harris went to trial in New Haven County Superior Court on the robbery and rape charges.

Although C.S. and D.G. had initially told police that Mr. Myers sexually assaulted D.G. and Mr. Downing assaulted C.S., the prosecution told the jury that Mr. Myers was the lookout, that Mr. Downing assaulted D.G., and that Mr. Harris sexually assaulted C.S.

Although C.S. and D.G. had not been able to identify Mr. Harris in any lineups, both now identified him in court. C.S. pointed to Mr. Harris, who was the only Black man in the courtroom, and said, “I’m certain of that face…He’s the one who did it to me.” D.G. testified, “It’s him…He was on [C.S.’s] side [of the car].”

Mr. Downing recanted his previous statement implicating Mr. Harris. He said he had never seen Mr. Harris before. Mr. Downing testified that he falsely implicated Mr. Harris because he saw a way to get leniency on his own case.

The prosecution called Detective Dattilo, who testified for the first time that the unnamed informant who first implicated Mr. Myers and Mr. Downing back in 1983 was, in fact, Mr. Harris. During the ensuing six years leading up to the trial, Detective Dattilo had only referred to the tipster as a “known and reliable informant,” even though there was no evidence Mr. Harris had ever been a police informant.

Mr. Marocco, who also had not identified Mr. Harris before, also identified Mr. Harris in court as the man who robbed him. Mr. Marocco said he saw the robbers’ faces “clearly.” 

Laura Barrows, an employee of Mr. Marocco’s nightclub, testified that she recognized Mr. Myers and Mr. Downing as being in the club earlier that night and that it was possible that Mr. Harris was with them. 

Nearly a week after Mr. Marocco finished testifying, outside of the jury’s presence, Mr. Harris’ defense attorney asked about a reference in Mr. Harris’ arrest warrant to another case number affiliated with the case. Over the objection of prosecutor James Clark, the court ordered the report disclosed. It showed that in two separate interviews shortly after he was robbed, Mr. Marocco had told police that the best description he could give was that the robbers were Black men in their teens. He said he could not identify any of them. All three were wearing ski masks.

Although the report could have been used to impeach Mr. Marocco’s identification of Mr. Harris, the defense failed to recall Mr. Marocco to the witness stand.

No physical evidence linked Mr. Harris to the crimes.

During the closing argument, Prosecutor Clark falsely argued that C.S. had heard someone refer to her assailant as “Jock.” The defense did not object.

On April 11, 1989, Mr. Harris was convicted of three counts of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

The Exoneration

Acting without a lawyer, Mr. Harris filed multiple habeas corpus petitions challenging his convictions and seeking his release. None succeeded. He contacted the Connecticut Innocence Project in an effort to locate forensic evidence. The evidence was said to be lost. He reached out to the Innocence Project which, in 2015, successfully petitioned for DNA testing of C.S.’s blouse, which had been located. The testing identified a male profile that was not Mr. Harris. 

In 2017, Innocence Project Attorney Vanessa Potkin filed a motion for a sentence modification on Mr. Harris’ behalf, citing the failure to disclose the police report detailing Mr. Marocco’s initial inability to make an identification and the failure of Mr. Harris’ attorney to act on that information. The motion also noted Mr. Harris’ exclusion as the source of the DNA from C.S.’ blouse, as well as Prosecutor Clark’s improper closing argument. The motion also asserted that Mr. Clark had presented evidence that he should have known was false — Detective Dattilo’s claim that Mr. Harris was the unnamed informant in 1983.

The prosecution said it would agree to Mr. Harris’ release if he entered an Alford plea to three counts of robbery and one count of kidnapping. On Nov. 21, 2017, Mr. Harris entered the plea, in which he maintained his innocence, but conceded that the prosecution had evidence that could support a conviction. He was released nearly 29 years after his conviction.

In December 2021, Attorney David Keenan and attorneys from the law firm of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP filed an application requesting an absolute pardon from the Connecticut Board of Pardon and Paroles. The 24-page application recited the evidence detailed by the Innocence Project as well as Mr. Harris’ personal journey.

On July 26, 2022, the application was approved, and Mr. Harris was granted an absolute pardon.