PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Golubski argued that he and other officers had probable cause to arrest McIntyre for the slayings of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn because they relied in part on statements from two witnesses — both of whose accounts of the shooting ended up changing over time. McIntyre argues there’s evidence that Golubski knew one witness could not have seen the shooter’s face and gave a description of the suspect that did not match that of McIntyre. Vratil agreed that could lead a jury to conclude Golubski falsified parts of the case against McIntyre. Vratil also rejected Golubski’s argument that he did not cause McIntyre’s conviction because evidence in the case suggested then-Wyandotte County prosecutor Terra Morehead — now a federal prosecutor in Kansas — coerced a witness into identifying McIntyre as the shooter at the 1994 trial “Even so, plaintiff has presented evidence that Golubski never revealed his misconduct to Morehead and that his misconduct tainted the in-court identifications” by the witnesses, Vratil wrote. Golubski also argued that McIntyre can’t show the detective fabricated evidence in the homicide investigation against McIntyre. But Vratil said a reasonable jury could examine evidence that points to Golubski coercing witnesses to create a narrative implicating McIntyre as the shooter. “The Court cannot come close to conclusively resolving this issue in Golubski’s favor, or find that McIntyre’s case is devoid of evidence which supports his claim that Golubski knowingly fabricated false evidence against McIntyre,” Vratil wrote."
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STORY: "Lamonte McIntyre clears legal hurdle in lawsuit accusing Kansas City, Kansas cop of framing him," by Reporter Steve Vockrodt, published by KCUR on June 13, 2022.
GIST: "A federal judge last week rejected a former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department detective’s attempt to have a major civil rights lawsuit against him thrown out.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil turned away arguments made by Roger Golubski, who asked that the judge resolve the case in his favor and take it out of the hands of a jury.
Golubski stands accused of a wide range of misconduct, not only during his investigation of a 1994 double homicide in Wyandotte County that led to the wrongful conviction of Lamonte McIntyre, but throughout his decades-long career with the KCKPD.
A Wyandotte County jury convicted McIntyre following a sloppy and coercive police investigation. He served 23 years in prison before he was exonerated in 2017.
In a civil suit naming Golubski, other KCKPD officers and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, McIntyre alleges Golubski framed him for the slayings because his mother, Rose McIntyre, spurned Golubski’s advances after he allegedly sexually assaulted her years before the killings.
Vratil’s ruling Thursday echoed statements she made during a May hearing suggesting she would let a jury sort out the various claims made by both McIntyres. Her denial of all but one claim in Golubski’s summary judgment motion means that a trial scheduled for later this year — one that Vratil said at the hearing could have significant financial repercussions for the Unified Government — is likely to take place unless the parties reach a settlement.
That the trial could inflict financial damage on the Unified Government is a belief apparently shared by the Unified Government itself. It recently warned prospective buyers of its municipal bonds that a settlement or a verdict in the case could have a “material adverse effect” on the government’s finances and operations.
Golubski argued that he and other officers had probable cause to arrest McIntyre for the slayings of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn because they relied in part on statements from two witnesses — both of whose accounts of the shooting ended up changing over time.
McIntyre argues there’s evidence that Golubski knew one witness could not have seen the shooter’s face and gave a description of the suspect that did not match that of McIntyre. Vratil agreed that could lead a jury to conclude Golubski falsified parts of the case against McIntyre.
Vratil also rejected Golubski’s argument that he did not cause McIntyre’s conviction because evidence in the case suggested then-Wyandotte County prosecutor Terra Morehead — now a federal prosecutor in Kansas — coerced a witness into identifying McIntyre as the shooter at the 1994 trial.
“Even so, plaintiff has presented evidence that Golubski never revealed his misconduct to Morehead and that his misconduct tainted the in-court identifications” by the witnesses, Vratil wrote.
Golubski also argued that McIntyre can’t show the detective fabricated evidence in the homicide investigation against McIntyre. But Vratil said a reasonable jury could examine evidence that points to Golubski coercing witnesses to create a narrative implicating McIntyre as the shooter.
“The Court cannot come close to conclusively resolving this issue in Golubski’s favor, or find that McIntyre’s case is devoid of evidence which supports his claim that Golubski knowingly fabricated false evidence against McIntyre,” Vratil wrote.
Vratil did dismiss a relatively minor claim made by McIntyre — that he was deprived of “familial association” by his conviction — but the bulk of the case against Golubski remains intact following Vratil’s ruling."
The entire story can be read at:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Golubski argued that he and other officers had probable cause to arrest McIntyre for the slayings of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn because they relied in part on statements from two witnesses — both of whose accounts of the shooting ended up changing over time. McIntyre argues there’s evidence that Golubski knew one witness could not have seen the shooter’s face and gave a description of the suspect that did not match that of McIntyre. Vratil agreed that could lead a jury to conclude Golubski falsified parts of the case against McIntyre. Vratil also rejected Golubski’s argument that he did not cause McIntyre’s conviction because evidence in the case suggested then-Wyandotte County prosecutor Terra Morehead — now a federal prosecutor in Kansas — coerced a witness into identifying McIntyre as the shooter at the 1994 trial “Even so, plaintiff has presented evidence that Golubski never revealed his misconduct to Morehead and that his misconduct tainted the in-court identifications” by the witnesses, Vratil wrote. Golubski also argued that McIntyre can’t show the detective fabricated evidence in the homicide investigation against McIntyre. But Vratil said a reasonable jury could examine evidence that points to Golubski coercing witnesses to create a narrative implicating McIntyre as the shooter. “The Court cannot come close to conclusively resolving this issue in Golubski’s favor, or find that McIntyre’s case is devoid of evidence which supports his claim that Golubski knowingly fabricated false evidence against McIntyre,” Vratil wrote."
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STORY: "Lamonte McIntyre clears legal hurdle in lawsuit accusing Kansas City, Kansas cop of framing him," by Reporter Steve Vockrodt, published by KCUR on June 13, 2022.
GIST: "A federal judge last week rejected a former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department detective’s attempt to have a major civil rights lawsuit against him thrown out.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil turned away arguments made by Roger Golubski, who asked that the judge resolve the case in his favor and take it out of the hands of a jury.
Golubski stands accused of a wide range of misconduct, not only during his investigation of a 1994 double homicide in Wyandotte County that led to the wrongful conviction of Lamonte McIntyre, but throughout his decades-long career with the KCKPD.
A Wyandotte County jury convicted McIntyre following a sloppy and coercive police investigation. He served 23 years in prison before he was exonerated in 2017.
In a civil suit naming Golubski, other KCKPD officers and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, McIntyre alleges Golubski framed him for the slayings because his mother, Rose McIntyre, spurned Golubski’s advances after he allegedly sexually assaulted her years before the killings.
Vratil’s ruling Thursday echoed statements she made during a May hearing suggesting she would let a jury sort out the various claims made by both McIntyres. Her denial of all but one claim in Golubski’s summary judgment motion means that a trial scheduled for later this year — one that Vratil said at the hearing could have significant financial repercussions for the Unified Government — is likely to take place unless the parties reach a settlement.
That the trial could inflict financial damage on the Unified Government is a belief apparently shared by the Unified Government itself. It recently warned prospective buyers of its municipal bonds that a settlement or a verdict in the case could have a “material adverse effect” on the government’s finances and operations.
Golubski argued that he and other officers had probable cause to arrest McIntyre for the slayings of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn because they relied in part on statements from two witnesses — both of whose accounts of the shooting ended up changing over time.
McIntyre argues there’s evidence that Golubski knew one witness could not have seen the shooter’s face and gave a description of the suspect that did not match that of McIntyre. Vratil agreed that could lead a jury to conclude Golubski falsified parts of the case against McIntyre.
Vratil also rejected Golubski’s argument that he did not cause McIntyre’s conviction because evidence in the case suggested then-Wyandotte County prosecutor Terra Morehead — now a federal prosecutor in Kansas — coerced a witness into identifying McIntyre as the shooter at the 1994 trial.
“Even so, plaintiff has presented evidence that Golubski never revealed his misconduct to Morehead and that his misconduct tainted the in-court identifications” by the witnesses, Vratil wrote.
Golubski also argued that McIntyre can’t show the detective fabricated evidence in the homicide investigation against McIntyre. But Vratil said a reasonable jury could examine evidence that points to Golubski coercing witnesses to create a narrative implicating McIntyre as the shooter.
“The Court cannot come close to conclusively resolving this issue in Golubski’s favor, or find that McIntyre’s case is devoid of evidence which supports his claim that Golubski knowingly fabricated false evidence against McIntyre,” Vratil wrote.
Vratil did dismiss a relatively minor claim made by McIntyre — that he was deprived of “familial association” by his conviction — but the bulk of the case against Golubski remains intact following Vratil’s ruling."
The entire story can be read at:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: NATIONAL REGISTRY:
NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS ENTRY: Senior writer/Researcher Maurice Possley; Last updated on:2/24/2020;
GIST: "At about 2 p.m. on April 15, 1994, a man carrying a shotgun ran down a hill toward the 3000 block of Hutchings Street in Kansas City, Kansas. He walked to the passenger side of a parked Cadillac and blasted out the window in an explosion of glass. The gunman ejected the shell and fired again—and again and again—four shots in all.
There were two men in the front seat. Twenty-one-year-old Doniel Quinn died instantly and 34-year-old Donald Ewing died shortly thereafter at a hospital.
Less than 24 hours later, police said they had solved the crime with the arrest of 17-year-old Lamonte McIntyre based on identifications by two eyewitnesses.
McIntyre went to trial on September 26, 1994 in Wyandotte County District Court. He was charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder.
Ejected shotgun shells had been recovered, but none was examined for fingerprints. No physical evidence linked McIntyre to the crime. Although McIntyre was arrested within hours of the shooting, police never sought to examine his clothing, despite witness statements that the gunman was standing right next to the car when the shots were fired and likely would have been hit by exploding glass and possibly blood.
Neighborhood residents Niko Quinn, who was Doniel Quinn’s cousin, and Ruby Mitchell testified that they recognized the gunman as McIntyre.
McIntyre’s family members testified that he was with them at the time of the shooting.
There was no evidence about why the killings occurred or that McIntyre had any connection to the victims. Nevertheless, prosecutor Terra Morehead told the jury that McIntyre had a “vendetta” against them.
After a three-day trial, the jury convicted McIntyre of both counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison
Less than a year later, the case began to unravel. Stacy Quinn, Niko Quinn’s sister, had been across the street from the shooting. She came forward to say she saw the gunman and he was not McIntyre. She said police never questioned her at the time.
In addition, Niko Quinn recanted her identification of McIntyre, saying she told prosecutor Morehead twice before the trial that McIntyre was not the gunman. According to Quinn, Morehead told her that unless she testified and identified McIntyre, she would be arrested and the state would take away her children. Morehead never disclosed to McIntyre’s defense attorneys Niko Quinn’s statements.
Niko Quinn and Stacy Quinn signed sworn affidavits saying that McIntyre was too tall, his face was too long, and his ears stuck out too much to have been the person they saw.
But following an evidentiary hearing in 1996, Judge J. Dexter Burdette declined to grant McIntyre a new trial. After hearing Stacy Quinn testify, Burdette dismissed her testimony as unreliable because she was a drug user and had failed to come forward earlier. Burdette reviewed Niko Quinn’s affidavit and declared that her recantation had “no credibility whatsoever.”
More than 20 years later, on October 13, 2017, in the midst of another evidentiary hearing and in the face of a cascade of evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree abruptly rose and announced that the prosecution agreed that McIntyre’s conviction should be vacated.
Dupree then dismissed the charges and McIntyre was freed after more than 23 years in prison. His first words upon release as he walked into the embrace of his mother, Rosie McIntyre, were, “It’s nice outside.”
McIntyre’s release was the product of more than two decades of re-investigation, first initiated by Centurion Ministries, a non-profit organization in New Jersey that investigates wrongful convictions. Centurion brought in attorney Cheryl Pilate, who teamed with Mark Bussell, a retired police detective, and later with the Midwest Innocence Project. Over the years they uncovered substantial additional evidence that undermined the state’s case against McIntyre.
• Prosecutor Morehead not only failed to disclose to the defense that Niko Quinn insisted prior to trial that McIntyre was innocent, but also that Niko Quinn’s mother, Josephine Quinn, came to court and said McIntyre was not the gunman. Morehead said nothing to the defense and sent Josephine Quinn away.
• Prosecutor Morehead elicited false testimony from Ruby Mitchell, who initially told police that she could only tell the gunman was brown-skinned and wore his hair in French braids. She told police that she thought the gunman might be a man named Lamonte who had French braids and had dated her neice. Three hours later—after she was intimidated and sexually propositioned by the lead detective, Richard Golubski—Mitchell identified McIntyre in a photographic lineup. To convince the jury that Mitchell's identification was reliable, Morehead, through her questioning, elicited false testimony from Mitchell that she just picked the person she saw and that she no longer believed the gunman was the Lamonte who had dated her niece.
• Evidence showed that before he retired, Golubski was well known in the department for his vast array of informants, many of them prostitutes with whom he had sex.
• Physical evidence showed that Mitchell would not have been able to see the gunman’s face—as she testified at the trial—from the spot where she said she was standing when the murders occurred.
• Stacy Quinn had a sexual relationship with Golubski for several years and was in regular contact with him. However, Golubski never documented her account of the shooting.
• Several witnesses said the murders were committed by a man known as “Monster,” who worked as an enforcer for drug kingpin Aaron Robinson. At the time of the murders, Doniel Quinn was working for Robinson and may have incurred Robinson’s wrath by stealing some of his drugs. Robinson later died, and the man known as “Monster,” Neil Edgar, Jr., was imprisoned for a later murder.
• Before the murders, some of Robinson’s dealers had beaten Doniel Quinn for stealing drugs. The autopsy of Doniel Quinn showed recent blunt force trauma to the back of his head.
• Prosecutor Morehead and Judge Burdette had a romantic relationship in 1990 and 1991—as recently as three years before McIntyre’s trial—but failed to disclose it to the defense.
In June 2016, Pilate moved to vacate McIntyre’s conviction. In a filing of more than 100 pages, she detailed how the evidence against McIntyre had been disproven or recanted. The motion, which was supported by more than 40 sworn affidavits from a vast array of witnesses, claimed that the police and prosecution “consistently subverted and concealed the truth—manufacturing evidence and presenting testimony they knew to be false.”
An evidentiary hearing on the petition was convened in Wyandotte County District Court on October 12, 2017. Among the first witnesses were relatives of the victims who testified that they had long believed that McIntyre was not the killer.
The following day, as Pilate was preparing to call Judge Burdette to testify about his romantic relationship with prosecutor Morehead, the court recessed for lunch.
District Attorney Dupree, who had been in the hearing for a short time the day before, came to court after the recess and asked Senior District Judge Edward Bouker to vacate McIntyre’s conviction. Bouker granted the motion and Dupree dismissed the charges.
Dupree said he was not admitting that Burdette, Morehead, or Golubski had committed any misconduct, but that he was acting to correct a “manifest injustice.” In December 2017, McIntyre was granted a full scholarship to attend the Penny Valley campus of Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri. In October 2018, McIntyre filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Golubski and eight other police officers seeking compensation for his wrongful conviction. In March 2019, McIntyre filed for state compensation and was awarded $1.55 million in February 2020."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
