On the afternoon of January 27, 1998, a violent robbery at an illegal numbers spot on the second floor of 2335 Eighth Avenue in Harlem ended with the death of 70-year-old Albert Ward, a retired New York City police officer. Two men entered the gambling parlor to rob the establishment; one assailant began restraining people with duct tape while the other, identified by some witnesses as Tee, demanded money. Ward retrieved a .38 caliber revolver, approached the duct-taping assailant from behind and put the gun to his neck. A struggle followed, Ward’s gun discharged, and Tee turned and fired, fatally wounding Ward in the head. The two assailants then fled.

The investigation relied heavily on eyewitness identification. Early leads produced a composite sketch and initially pointed to a man called Mustafa, but an eyewitness named Augustus Brown identified Jon-Adrian Velazquez as the shooter. Velazquez did not match the composite, and no physical or DNA evidence publicly tied him to the crime. He was arrested and charged in connection with Ward’s murder. The actual perpetrators have not been brought to justice.

Are there witnesses, records, or local memories about the robbery at 2335 Eighth Avenue that could help clarify who was involved?