A New York court has upheld the conviction of a purported Bloods gang member for gun possession based partly on grand jury testimony of a murdered witness.
The Appellate Division has rejected the appeal of 24-year-old Jarrin Rankin, now serving 25 years in state prison. According to the court, the case began with gunfire in Kingston between Rankin and Curtis Williams, who was shot in the face. Charles King Jr. testified at an Ulster County grand jury in 2010 that he saw Rankin shoot at Williams. Three weeks later King was fatally shot by Rankin's brother, who since was convicted of murder. The midlevel court says grand jury testimony was admissible because taped jail phone calls and other evidence showed Rankin complicit in King's absence at trial.
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