Nassau DA drops case against man accused of shooting cabbie

Nassau County prosecutors dismissed attempted murder charges against a Roosevelt man who spent more than two years in jail awaiting trial after a witness gave false statements to authorities.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced the decision Thursday, saying that after "an extensive and thorough review" in conjunction with Nassau County police, all charges against Malcolm Griffin had been dismissed.

Griffin’s attorney, Joseph Lo Piccolo of Garden City, said Thursday that due to discovery and bail laws he did not have access to the prosecution’s case for the two years following Griffin’s arrest. When he did he get the information because the case was approaching trial, it led to the two key witnesses in the case recanting their testimony, Lo Piccolo said.

“Prosecutors did not have to share discovery with the defense or defendant until nearly two years later and he stayed in jail the whole time,” Lo Piccolo said.

Griffin was arrested in 2019 and charged with the Feb. 17, 2016, attack in Roosevelt where a cabdriver was shot in the face, according to authorities. The driver lost an eye in the shooting.

Lo Piccolo said an informant gave police false information that claimed he was the lookout for the taxi driver’s robbery by three people, including Griffin.

But the informant's account contradicted the cabdriver’s story, which said there were only two people involved in the robbery, Lo Piccolo said.

Griffin was initially arrested in 2019 and released after an error by the grand jury, Lo Piccolo said. He was rearrested in December 2019 on a new indictment and prosecutors sought an order to stop releasing discovery in the case, Lo Piccolo said.

Two other defendants in the case were convicted of separate murder charges and sentenced to life in prison. Griffin was set for trial in January of this year.

Prosecutors and Nassau County police said they re-interviewed witnesses in the case who were "deemed to not be truthful." Prosecutors notified defense counsel and the court and moved to have Griffin immediately released from jail, where he had been held on $400,000 bond, $250,000 cash bail, since a grand jury indictment led to his arrest Dec. 10, 2019. He was released in January.

Prosecutors dismissed charges Thursday after determining they were unable to prove the case at trial.

“The administration of District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly is committed to doing justice and protecting the rights of the public, victims, and all defendants. As a result, today, the NCDA has moved to dismiss the pending charges against Mr. Griffin,” district attorney officials said in a statement. “The investigation into the 2016 shooting is ongoing.”

Lo Piccolo said Griffin planned to move to Georgia to live near his mother.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.com,JohnAsbury,

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.