NYPD Detective Kevin Desormeau was found guilty Wednesday (Jan. 24) of perjury and making false statements that led an innocent man to spend seven weeks in Rikers Island, according to reports.
Desormeau and his partner Sasha Neve arrested 48-year-old Roosevelt McCoy in 2014, claiming he was dealing crack near Yogi’s Restaurant in Jamaica, Queens. The officer alleged to have found seven grams of cocaine in his waistband after handcuffing him. After video surveillance showed McCoy inside the restaurant playing pool the entire time detectives said he was dealing, the case was dismissed in March 2016.
The New York Daily News reports the video also showed the two detectives approach McCoy while he was playing pool, Neve taking a bag from McCoy filled with $300 in cash and both detectives escorting him outside the restaurant.
After the case was thrown out, McCoy filed a lawsuit against the city and the two detectives. He received a $547,000 settlement November 2017.
Neve was also charged of official misconduct for filing false documents that backed up the false story. Judge Michael Aloise overturned her conviction, accusing the prosecutor of “cherry picking” the evidence against Neve, according to the Daily.