SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF SUFFOLK. OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, AFFIRMATION IN SUPPORT OF -against- MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION PURSUANT TO. CPL, § 440.10 KEITH BUSH, Indictment No. 182-75 Defendant, Howard S. Master, an attomey duly admitted to the practice of law before the courts of the State of New York, hereby affirms the following to be true under penalty of perjury: 1. Lam an Assistant District Attomey of Suffolk County, of counsel to Timothy D. Sini, District Attomey of Suffolk County, and attorney of record for the People of the State of New York. ‘The statements made in this Affirmation are based on information contained in the files of this Office and obtained by this Office, which information I believe to be true, 2. This affirmation is submitted in support of the defense’s motion pursuant to CPL. §§ 440.10(1)(g) and (h) to vacate Bush’s conviction and dismiss the Indictment pending against him. = Bush was convicted on April 2, 1976, after a jury trial, of Murder in the Second Degree and Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree under Indictment 182-75. He was sentenced on June 16, 1976, to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum term of life in prison, which was modified on June 18, 1976, to include a concurrent sentence of up to 4 years’ imprisonment on the attempted sexual abuse count, Bush served 33 years in prison on thosecharges. Since his release from prison, he has been on lifetime parole and has been required to register as a Level 3 sex offender. 4, Bush has claimed since his arrest in 1975 that he did not commit the crimes of which he was convicted. He has filed many applications for relief but all have been denied. In recent years, however, Bush has obtained new evidence supporting his claim of innocence, described in greater detail below. One category of evidence, conceming an alternative suspect ‘who was investigated for these same crimes, was first produced to Bush via Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) requests between October 2017 and April 2018. Thereafter, the Office's newly-created Conviction Integrity Bureau (“CIB , which is tasked with examining wrongful conviction claims by those who present evidence of actual innocence, commenced its almost year-long investigation culminating in this motion. 5. The CIB has concluded, based on an extensive investigation of Bush’s claims that has included interviews of dozens of witnesses, attorneys, and scientists; a reexamination of forensic evidence presented in the case; and an evaluation of the newly-discovered alternative ‘suspect’s potential involvement in the crime, that Bush’s claims are substantiated.' 6. Asset forth in greater detail below: a. The prosecutor who investigated and prosecuted the case more than 40 ‘years ago suppressed evidence conceming the alternative suspect, preventing Bush from learning about the suspect until this Office made the evidence available to him in 2018. Evidence gathered by the CIB indicates that the alternative suspect may well have committed the offenses of which Bush was wrongfully convicted; ' The CIB thanks the Suffolk County Medical Examiner, including the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory (the “Crime Lab"), as well as the Suffolk County Police Department (*SCPD"), for their support of the CIB’s investigation,b. _Bush’s confession, which he insisted from the outset was coerced by beatings and other misconduct, has been proven false in material respects and was elicited by a detective who alluded to use of coercive tactics when questioned by the CIB; ©. The theory of the crime presented at trial has been debunked by forensic evidence; 4. A key witness against Bush at trial, a 15-year-old girl who testified that Bush and Watson left the party together, recanted under oath in 1980 and has maintained her recantation since that date, including to the CIB, which found corroboration for her recantation; e. Bush's alibi defense has been supported by witnesses who have stated under oath that Bush in fact did have a valid alibi, and that they were prevented from testifying about that alibi by threats and intimidation prior to trial; and f Other evidence against Bush has been undermined by subsequent developments and re-investigation. 7. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, the Office recommends that Bush’s convietions be vacated and the indictment filed against him dismissed. FACTUAL BACKGROUND” A. The Murder of Sherese Watson and Bush’s Interrogation and Arrest 8. On Friday, January 10, 1975, a Bellport resident named Pearl Jackson hosted a party at her house at 735 Bourdois Avenue, in Bellport, New York. The party began at approximately 9:00 p.m. and approximately 75 to 100 teenagers and young adults attended over the course of the night. The party lasted into the early morning hours of Saturday, January 11, The following summary sets forth only those facts that are relevant to the disposition ofthe instant motion and that are undisputed, unless otherwise noted. Additional information and documentation are available to the Court upon request.