Man released from prison in unique case, killed in Albany
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ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Police confirmed Mohammed Poquee, was the victim of a Sunday morning shooting in Albany. Poquee was just released from prison last year after serving over 20 years on rape charges.
According to police, officers responded at 12:10 a.m. on Sunday to 260 North Pearl Street in Albany for calls of a person who had been shot. Officers found a 49-year-old Albany man with multiple gunshot wounds to the body. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police confirmed on Tuesday that the victim was Mohammed Poquee. As first reported by the Times Union, Poquee was found guilty of raping a woman in Albany back in 2000. In court, the victim stated she was held against her will in the apartment for a couple days when the crimes happened.
He was originally facing an 11-count indictment including first-degree burglary, first-degree rape, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, and more. Yet he was convicted on Nov. 16, 2000, of one count of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree sodomy (now called first-degree criminal sex act) and two counts of second-degree assault.
Poquee was sentenced to 32 years in prison, which he served 23 years of, before new developments were presented to court just last year. Special Prosecutor Frederick Rench said it was a shocking discovery.
"Nothing like this, this is once in a hundred lifetimes," said Rench. "The note was in the file Vanessa, for 20 years."
The note was dated Oct. 25, 2000 and found folded in the back of the case file folder. Rench translated the abbreviations to read, "Phone conference with DJ Rosenbaum. Offer plea attempted rape first. 10 determinant."
According to Rench, this mean that Poquee was offered a 10-year plea deal before the trial started back in 2000. However, his public defender never told him about it.
Rench said Poquee made it clear that he would've taken a 10-year plea deal, based on the records he had. Instead, Poquee served 13 additional years before this note was found and acted upon.
“I was committed to his remaining in prison but when I saw that note, when I had that note in my hands, and when I spoke to defense counsel who confirmed it was his handwriting, and that an offer had been made, and that he had overlooked and not told Mr. Poquee about it, I was then committed to Mr. Poquee’s release," said Rench.
Rench also addressed an alleged sex tape that was brought up in this case, however Rench believed it was a distraction to the crime. The alleged sex tape concerned Poquee and an Albany County lawyer whom Poquee was having an affair with. However, Rench said the victim knew about the affair, therefore Rench believed it didn't make a difference in the overall case.
"The tape itself is a distraction. In this case you had live testimony, you had the victim testify that allegedly witnessed what Poquee did to her. Then you had Mr. Poquee testify to refute that, it's the purest form of justice. The tape was going to be brought in to suggest a bias in the witness," said Rench.
The focus now -- what happened to Poquee? Albany police did not comment on if there was any possible connection between Poquee's past and his death. They said the investigation is ongoing. Stick with NEWS10 for updates on this investigation.