. >> attorneys bob gottlieb and celia gordon have represented velazquez for the past two years. >> thered using drugs when i was about 10, something like that. >> woodford came to the numbers spot that day about noon to buy heroin. with two minutes later two men barged in. it was a robbery. >> i heard somebody said give it up [ bleep ], and had this in my face. oh, man. >> one man had a gun and another had duct tape and began tying people up. >> all hell breaks loose. al ward takes out a gun, the retired police officer. >> there was a struggle and then gunfire. >> i heard a shot, boom, boom, boom. >> 59-year-old albert ward was killed, shot once in the head. >> immediately upon albert ward dropping to the floor, the two individuals take off. >> the robbers weren't the only ones who fled. >> before i got a chance to even think anything, i jumped up and ran. >> lorenzo woodford and yore eyewitness, woodford's heroin dealer took off. that drug dealer, a man named agustus brown, would turn out to be critical to the case. in the meantime, a retired cop was down. the nypd responded swiftly and

. >> reporter: attorneys bob gottlieb and celia gordon represented velazquez for the last two years.pot, an illegal gambling joint in harlem owned by albert wart. >> reporter: two men barthed in. there was a struggle and then gunfire. 59-year-old albert ward was killed. shot once in the head. the eyewitnesses gave detectives similar descriptions of the shooter and his accomplice. >> the gunman was a light skinned male black with braids. >> lo and behold when they have the lineup, you have john adrian velazquez, who is hispanic. >> reporter: did you ever have dreadlocks? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: has there ever been any physical evidence to link you to this crime? >> none whatsoever. >> reporter: you were nowhere close to the scene. why is it that you were picked out? >> that's probably the best question in the world. i don't know the answer. >> reporter: velazquez was found guilty of second degree murder. >> i know i heard my mother. i heard her scream. i don't think i looked back. i don't think i had the heart to look back in my familiar's eyes. >> reporter: he went to work tr