Decades-old conviction of NFL lineman’s father Jeffrey Koonce vacated after move from Westchester DA

The father of an NFL lineman had his 1983 armed robbery conviction vacated in Westchester County on Friday, after a review found misconduct on the part of detectives who investigated the case.

Jeffrey Koonce, 67, smiled in court and said he felt vindicated after Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah agreed to toss the decades-old conviction stemming from a stickup at a Mount Vernon social club, according to Lohud.

An investigation by the district attorney’s office found that Koonce’s conviction was “tainted by such questionable investigatory processes,” Rocah said in a statement.

3

“I feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders as far as my character goes and that leads directly to my family because I have some wonderful kids,” Koonce, the father of Las Vegas Raider’s defensive end Malcolm Koonce, said in court, according to Lohud.

“They had to suffer whatever it was that society thought of me, which was not true at all, throughout their entire lives and this right here is vindication of everything for them,” he added.

The review by the DA’s office’s Conviction Review Unit found that one of the lead detectives on the case gave false testimony and investigators used improper photo identification methods.

“From the highly suggestive photo array and identification procedures used by MVPD detectives to the totality of new evidence found by the CRU investigation, we agree with defense counsel that Jefferey Koonce’s 1983 conviction was tainted by such questionable investigatory processes and therefore can no longer stand by the integrity of this conviction,” Rocah said in her statement.

3

Koonce, who maintained his innocence since first being accused, served more than eight years in prison for an armed robbery committed by three men on June 20, 1981.

On that day, more than 20 patrons and employees were held at gunpoint inside the Vernon Stars Rod & Gun Club in Mount Vernon. One shotgun shot was fired during the robbery, striking a 15-year-old in the arm and grazing three adults.

Koonce and his younger brother Paul were arrested a week after the crime was committed and only one witness — the 15-year-old gunshot victim — testified that the elder Koonce was at the scene.

3

The DA’s office review found that two lead detectives and a lieutenant used improper photo ID methods that resulted in false testimony against Koonce, including the “highly suggestive photo array” that was shown to the wounded victim in the hospital.

Koonce maintained that he had an alibi and was not in Mount Vernon during the robbery.