WPBN: An ex-New Britain resident of Connecticut is suing the state for more than $5 million in wrongful conviction damages after spending six and a half years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
In August 2015, a four-year-old girl in New Britain told her mother that a man had come to her bedroom window in the middle of the night, taken her to the woods, and touched her private areas before bringing her home. Alexy Martinez-Mercado was 27 according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Police in New Britain detained Martinez-Mercado on burglary charges the following month.
Authorities thought Martinez-Mercado confessed to abducting and abusing the young girl, even though DNA analysis of the sexual examination swabs from the August incident disqualified him from contributing to the genetic material discovered on the victim.
First-degree kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a minor, house invasion, and danger of harm to a minor by sexual contact were among the charges brought against Martinez-Mercado in October 2015.
In September 2016, Martinez-Mercado pled guilty to first-degree sexual assault in New Britain court in Alford. A defendant who enters an Alford plea concedes that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prosecute them, but they do not confess guilt.
In addition to being given a ten-year jail sentence for the sexual assault conviction, Martinez-Mercado entered a guilty plea to the burglary counts. Concurrent with the sexual assault conviction, he was sentenced for the burglary offenses.
However, in November 2017, the State’s Attorney’s Office for New Britain and New Britain police were notified by the state crime lab that a database hit had finally linked on the swabs from the August 2015 attack. The man was Tailor Albert-Quinones, who had previously been found guilty of burglary and other offenses.
More testing in 2020 revealed that the genetic material discovered on the juvenile victim in August 2015 was influenced by Albert-Quinones. When the crime was committed, Albert-Quinones was also a resident of New Britain.
In February 2023, the state consented to revoke the conviction after Martinez-Mercado filed a motion for a new trial in September 2022 about the sexual assault conviction.
According to a prosecutor at a hearing on March 2, 2023, Albert-Quinones was recognized by the DNA hit, and no link between the two men was discovered.
The motions to overturn the conviction and drop the sexual assault charge against Martinez-Mercado were granted by the judge that day. Additionally, his sentences for the unrelated burglary charges were changed, and Martinez-Mercado was promptly released from prison.
The remaining six and a half years of Martinez-Mercado’s ten-year sentence had been completed. Now, Martinez-Mercado’s attorney claims in a notice of claim to the state’s Office of the Claims Commissioner that he satisfies all compensation standards under state statutes and is entitled to the highest award possible.
The attorney further points out that Martinez-Mercado had cognitive and psychological impairments that made him precarious throughout the investigation and prosecution, which resulted in the problematic confession that the state now acknowledges was untrustworthy.
According to the attorney, Martinez-Mercado’s conviction had repercussions that went well beyond the confines of the prison. He was forced to register as a sex offender, and his employment prospects, housing opportunities, and community contacts were all negatively impacted.
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Martinez-Mercado also lost some of his best professional years by being imprisoned from the ages of 28 to 34. His impairments previously made it hard for him to find work, the attorney stated.
The total amount Martinez-Mercado is asking for is $1,933,546, which includes $3,578,000 for lifelong support services.
If given the grant, Martinez-Mercado will use $250,000 for intense initial support services, $1,952,000 for lifelong support services, $896,000 for comprehensive medical and therapeutic assistance, and $480,000 to continue his studies.
A total of $5,511,546 in compensation is sought. According to his attorney, Martinez-Mercado’s compensation is commensurate with the harm he endured and the ongoing assistance he needs to start over.
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