FREE DAVONTAE SANFORD

Witness: Teen doesn't match description of gunman in 2007 Detroit slayings

2009-12-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Davontae Sanford's lawyer seeks to have conviction tossed out

By SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Detroit Police chaplain testified during a court hearing today that the person who fired a gun at him moments after a shooting on his street was at least 6 inches taller than a teen who is imprisoned for the 2007 quadruple killings.

The Rev. Jesse King testified that he saw two people wearing long black coats and ski masks seconds after four people were killed Sept. 17, 2007, in a drug house on Runyon on Detroit’s east side. King said the taller of the two men, whom he described as being at least 5-feet-ll, used a rifle to fire three rounds into King’s house as he watched from his porch. King returned fire and retreated inside.

“When I seen them coming up I knew something wasn’t right,” said King, 60. “Instinct kicked in and I stepped back into my home.”

Police have said Davontae Sanford, who was 14 at the time of the shooting in the 19700 block of Runyon, told them he and his friends plotted to rob a drug house and wound up shooting those inside. But Sanford’s appellate attorney said investigators in both written reports and in court testimony have acknowledged that Sanford is only 5-feet-5.

“This is just further evidence that Davontae could not have committed these shootings,” said attorney Kim McGinnis at the appellate hearing where he is seeking to overturn the guilty verdict and grant Sanford a new trial..

In October, a retired Detroit homicide commander provided an alibi for Sanford. William Rice, a 25-year veteran, testified that Sanford with him at Sanford’s aunt’s house for dinner at the time of the shooting.

Vincent Smothers, suspected of being a hit man, also has confessed to the killings, but has not been charged. Smothers has confessed to killing at least seven people, including the wife of a Detroit Police sergeant. Police say he may have acted in concert with Sanford.

According to his confession, Sanford said he and three other suspects had guns, and he used an M14 rifle that he tossed after the shooting. Sanford also confessed that he fired the rifle, which he said did not belong to him, at King after the shooting.

King said he could not describe the shooter other than his outerwear and height. “My focus was on my life, defending my home and my territory,” he said in Wayne County Circuit Court.

McGinnis has argued that Sanford, now 17, was likely fed information by homicide investigators and later included those details in his confession. Sanford has a learning disability and was reading at a third-grade level at the time of the incident. He is also blind in one eye.

After a two-day bench trial in March 2008, Sanford accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a firearm during a felony. In April 2008, he was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison.

Sanford is in prison at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer. Court proceedings are expected to continue in Wayne County Judge Brian Sullivan’s courtroom in January.

Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY: shackney@freepress.com.

Retired cop offers alibi for teen in quadruple slaying

2009-12-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

http://m.freep.com/news.jsp?key=547666&p=1

BY BEN SCHMITT and SUZETTE HACKNEY FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERSOctober 29, 2009 02:58 AM

A retired Detroit police homicide commander provided an alibi during a court hearing today for a teen who is imprisoned for a 2007 quadruple killing.

William Rice, a 25-year veteran, testified that Davontae Sanford was with him at a family member's house for dinner when four people were killed on Sept. 17, 2007, in a drug house on Runyon on Detroit's east side.

"He was there with me at the time the alleged crime took place," Rice said today during an appellate hearing for Sanford in front of Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan.

Alleged hit man Vincent Smothers confessed to the killings but he has not been charged and police believe he may have acted in connection with Sanford.

The killings occurred around 11:30 p.m., but Rice said he didn't leave the home on Teppert until 11:45 p.m. to drive Sanford back to his home on Beland.

Prosecutors challenged Rice and warned him about perjury.

"Do you know the penalty for committing perjury," Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Joseph Puleo asked.

"I'm familiar with it, yes," Rice answered, undaunted.

Rice described Sanford, now 16, as a "foster or step-nephew" who he has known for more than 10 years. He testified that Sanford stayed in the basement of the home on Teppert for hours playing on the computer while the adults cooked a roast dinner and conversed.

Rice said the adults would have noticed if Sanford left the home through a back door on the first floor.

"No there's no way," Rice said, when asked if Sanford could have slipped out the door.

On the night of the killings, neighbors said they heard a succession of 30 gunshots coming from the house. Killed were Michael Robinson, 33; D'Angelo McNoriell and Brian Dixon, who were in their early 20s, and Nicole Chapman, 25. Valerie Glover, 30, was critically wounded but survived the attack. A 7-year-old boy was found unharmed.

Police said Sanford, who was 14 at the time of the shooting in the 19700 block of Runyon, told them he and his friends plotted to rob a drug house and wound up shooting the occupants once inside.

According to his confession, Sanford said all four suspects had guns, and he used an M14 rifle that he tossed after the shooting. He said the gun did not belong to him.

After a two-day bench trial in March 2008, Sanford accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony firearm. In April, he was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison. His mother, Taminko Sanford, said she was advised by their attorney Robert Slameka that there was too much evidence with the teen's confession to continue the trial.

Smothers, who police say confessed to killing at least eight people, including the wife of a Detroit police sergeant, also has admitted to being responsible for the September 2007 drug house killings on Runyon.

Smothers is currently charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, but has yet to go to trial on any of them.

Sanford's lawyer, Kimberly McGinnis, called Smothers to testify before Judge Sullivan in July. Smothers asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege and refused to answer questions under oath.

Puleo has previously said there also is evidence - including gunshot residue - that points to Sanford's participation in the 2007 killings inside the Runyon Street home.

Detroit homicide Sgt. Michael Russell testified over the summer that Sanford gave investigators a description of the clothes he was wearing the night of the killings. The black jeans and PayDay candy bar T-shirt he said he wore tested positive for gunshot residue, Russell said.

But Rice testified that Sanford wore light-colored pajama pants to the house on the night in question.

2009-12-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

February 28, 2009

Is teen taking the fall for hit man's killing?

BY SUZETTE HACKNEY and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

link: http://truthinjustice.org/sanford.htm

Davontae Sanford, a developmentally disabled 16-year-old, sits in prison after his lawyer says he was coerced to confess to killing four people in a rumored drug house on Detroit's east side. Now, an admission from a confessed hit man could finally win him a new trial.

Vincent Smothers, who had already confessed to killing at least seven people, including the wife of a Detroit police sergeant, also has admitted to being responsible for the September 2007 drug house killings on Runyon, according to police and Sanford's appeals lawyer.

"We're hoping to get his plea withdrawn so he can go to trial in light of this new evidence," said attorney Kim McGinnis. "I think this was a false confession made by an adolescent who is a special-ed student and who reads on a third-grade level."

On Friday, Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan ordered police and prosecutors to give McGinnis any oral or written statements made by Smothers about the Runyon killings within the next two weeks.

On the night of the killings, neighbors said they heard a succession of 30 gunshots coming from the house. Killed were Michael Robinson, 33; D'Angelo McNoriell and Brian Dixon, who were in their early 20s, and Nicole Chapman, 25. Valerie Glover, 30, was critically wounded but survived the attack. A 7-year-old boy was found unharmed.

Police said Sanford, who was 14 at the time of the Sept. 17, 2007, shooting in the 19700 block of Runyon, told them he and his friends plotted to rob a drug house and wound up shooting the occupants once inside.

According to his confession, Sanford said all four suspects had guns, and he used an M14 rifle that he tossed after the shooting. He said the gun did not belong to him.

But McGinnis said forensics evidence shows that an AK47 and .45-caliber pistol were used at the shooting.

"Those are the weapons that Vincent Smothers uses, and the whole crime is his exact MO," McGinnis said.

No weapons were found in the shooting.

Sanford, who lived a few blocks from the shooting, first approached homicide investigators as they canvassed the neighborhood about two hours after the incident, according to court records. Sanford told them he had information about the crime, and officers received permission from Sanford's grandmother to bring him to police headquarters for further questioning, according to court testimony. Sanford did not have an attorney present, said his mother, Taminko Sanford, who calls her son Man

Police questioned Davontae Sanford overnight, brought him back home the following day, only to arrest him about two hours later. Sanford, who is blind in one eye, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, armed robbery and using a firearm to commit a felony. He faced life in prison with no chance of parole.

"If I thought there was a chance my son did this, I would love him, but I would not support him," Taminko Sanford, 34, said Friday, later adding, "The police set him up."

After a two-day bench trial in March, Sanford accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony firearm. In April, he was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison. Taminko Sanford said she was advised by their attorney Robert Slameka that there was too much evidence with the boy's confession to continue the trial.

Davontae Sanford is in prison at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer.

"When we signed off on the plea agreement, the lawyer I had said to take this or my son would go to jail for life."

Detroit Police homicide Sgt. Michael Russell, who investigated the Runyon Street killings, said he is certain Sanford was involved in the slayings. He said Sanford gave details, including a drawing of where the victims' bodies were found.

At the time, police found a marijuana-growing operation in the basement and marijuana plants in the backyard.

"Sanford was charged, the investigation was completed and he took a plea -- everything was on the up-and-up," Russell said Friday. "If Smothers wants to jump in and start making claims that he was involved with the case, it's up to the Prosecutor's Office to add him to the warrant. But Sanford was there and he was involved."

When Smothers was arrested in April, he confessed to killing seven people from August 2006 to December 2007. He told police he was paid between $5,000 and $15,000 for the jobs, and began to feel remorse for his actions only after he killed Rose Cobb, the wife of Detroit Police Sgt. David Cobb. David Cobb later killed himself and was never charged.

Smothers is currently charged with six counts of first-degree murder and was scheduled to go to trial on March 9, but that date will likely be pushed back, his lawyer, Gabi Silver, said Friday.

Smothers, 27, told police that David Cobb hired him to kill his wife, orchestrated the killing and paid him through a middleman for his services.

Cobb, 38, was arrested April 20, but the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office declined to charge him, citing a lack of evidence. Cobb remained suspended without pay from the Detroit Police Department when he hanged himself in a public park in September.

Law enforcement sources told the Free Press that murder charges against Cobb were looming for a second time when he committed suicide.

During a Jan. 6 preliminary examination in one of Smothers' murder cases, Detroit Police Sgt. Gerald Williams testified that Smothers made statements about the Runyon Street killings.

Williams declined comment Friday.

Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY at 313-222-6614 or shackney@freepress.com.

2009-12-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

The Runyon Street murders

September 18, 12:53 PMDetroit Crime ExaminerRobert Brignall

http://www.examiner.com/x-19336-Detroit-Crime-Examiner~y2009m9d18-The-Runyon-Street-murders

The original idea behind this report was to find a simple case illustrating the concept, set forth by local law enforcement, that between 65 and 70% percent of Deroit homicides were drug-related. Yet as I researched this quadruple murder case, I discovered more twists than a Dan Brown novel. Davontae Sanford

On September 17, 2007, at least two gunmen entered a drug house in the 19700 block of Runyon Street on Detroit's east side. detnews.com, 7/22/09 Though the motive was evidently robbery, four residents were killed execution-style and a fifth was seriously injured. Only a seven year old boy was unharmed..freep.com, 2/8/09.

One of the persons who invaded the house was Davontae Sanford, who was all of 14 years old at the time of the murders. He lived with his mother in the same neighborhood as the murder scene, and spoke freely to police canvassing the area for witnesses. According to these investigators, Sanford admitted to having participated in the crime, giving up details that only a perpetrator could have known, according to Assistant Prosecutor Joe Puleo. A search of his residence produced ammunition and a pair of pants that tested positive for gunshot residue. Sanford was quickly arrested.

An 'Open and Shut' case? Hardly.

My first clue that this was not a typical east side murder case was that Sanford's lawyer opted for a 'bench trial,' one in which issues of fact as well as law are decided by the trial judge; there is no jury. This is quite rare, particularly in a homicide case, and one in which the victims were involved in the drug trade and thus less likely to be sympathetic figures to a jury. What this suggests is that the defense case was almost entirely controlled by legal issues. While details of the trial are sketchy, the defense counsel must have known that it was losing on these issues, since after the second day of the 2008 trial, counsel cut a plea deal with the prosecution, featuring a defense plea of guilty to second degree murder and use of a firearm in commision of a felony.

The plea deal obviously did not include dedendant's sentence, because the judge threw the book at him. He is currently serving a term of 37-90 years in the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, MI, and will be eligible to join the AARP years before his first parole hearing, when he will be almost 70. detnews.com, 7/22/09. Because appeals from guilty pleas are rarely granted, this should have been the end of the story. Yet Sanford received help from an unusal source, a man who admitted to being a second participant in the Runyon Street murders.

A Hit Man with a Conscience

In April, 2008, a few weeks after Sanford received his sentence, a 28 year old, self-described hit man named Vincent Smothers came forward and confessed to having been involved in the east side killings.

Vincent Sothers attendind a court hearing

The police had already suspected at least one other shooter had been present, and Smothers gave them enough information that he was arrested. That Sanford did not name him earlier may have been part of the 'no snitch' policy, or fear that he might be killed for giving up the information. .

So why yould Smothers come clean? He claimed feelings of remorse for having killed one Rose Cobb, the wife of police Sgt. David Cobb.freep.com,, 2/8/09. Sgt. Cobb became a suspect in his wife's murder and, though never arrested, committed suicide.

Smothers admitted to carrying out a total of eight contract killings, for which he has been charged. He also stated that he used a .45 automatic pistol in the Runyon Street massacre, a weapon consiistent with ballistics tests, and that he stole a .40 automatic which he used in some of his hits. He took a half-pound of marijauna from the scene, which he split with a co-conspirator. He did not name Davontae Sanford as a participant.

Based upon Smother's admissions, Sanford's attorney filed a motion for new trial

Kim. McGinnis, Sanford's lawyer, has filed a motion to have her client's guilty plea thrown out, and Judge Brian Sullivan is taking it seriously. He should. According to McGinnis, her client is "developmentally disabled," reads at a third grade level and is blind in one eye.freep.com., 2/ 8/09. When he was taken to the police station for further questioning the day following the robbery/homicides, his mother did not come along, nor did she insist that a lawyer be present.

Additionally, Stanford described the weapon he carried that night as an M-14. Though an assault rifle was fired that night, ballistic testing identified it as an AK47.And though gunshot residue was found on a pair of Sanford's pants, none was apparently discovered on his hands.

The prosecutor is not backing down, however. He still has evidence pointing to Sanford as an active particpant in the crime. Meanwhile, Jugde Sullivan has ordered police to turn over to McGinnis the tape of Smother's confession, and demanded that ballistics tests be repeated by the Michigan State Police.

Smothers Gets Cold Feet and May Not Help Sanford Anymore

Smother's 'conscience' was short-lived; he took the Fifth Amendment at one of Sanfor'd's hearings, and has filed a motion to have his own confession tossed out. Sanford may win a new trial, but that doesn't mean he will prevail. He may get a reduction in his Draconian sentence, however, which in itself would be a victory for him.