NEW YORK — Retired NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella testified in court Friday as questions surround a case he worked on 20 years ago.
Nelson Cruz was convicted at the age of 17 of murdering Trevor Viera in East New York, Brooklyn
Cruz is now fighting to have his murder conviction overturned.
According to Cruz’s legal team, police officers at the scene witnessed another man shooting the murder weapon.
“Once Scarcella becomes involved, Cruz becomes involved,” explained attorney Justin Bonus. “Prior to that they had another man who was arrested.”
Scarcella testified in a hearing that could lead to Cruz’s conviction being tossed out. Scarcella defended his work, noting he was not the lead of the investigation, “it was not my case as you can see by the paperwork,” he said.
Scarcella testified he no longer remembers details on much of the 1998 case.
