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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
40 to 60 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
17.5 |
Year Crime: |
2001 |
Year Convicted: |
2002 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Michigan |
County or Region of Crime: |
Wayne |
City of Crime: |
Detroit |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Mubarez Saleh Ahmed aka Mubarez Ahmed was wrongly convicted on March 5, 2002 of second-degree murder and two counts of felony firearm violations related to a double murder at the intersection of Kirkwood and Lumley Streets in Detroit committed on February 9, 2001. Ahmed's prosecution was based on his identification by an eyewitness to the shooting. The eyewitness first ID's Ahmed from a photo of him that was shown to the witness, Izora Clark. Ahmed's pretrial motion to suppress Clark's identification was denied. After his conviction by a jury, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans sentenced Ahmed on March 25, 2002 to 40 to 60 years in prison. Ahmed's conviction was affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals on October 14, 2003, and the Michigan Supreme Court declined to review his case. Ahmed' state petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed on August 8, 2005, was summarily denied on September 1, 2005. As the result of a post-conviction investigation of Ahmed's case by the Michigan Innocence Clinic, in July 2016 Clark recanted her trial testimony identifiying Ahmed as the shooter. She said she felt presurred to identify Ahmed. In April 2017 another eyewitness, Larry Evans, who knew both victims, signed an Affidavit that the shooting was commited by a man known as "Little Jay" (who name is Roderick Tolbert), who boasted to him six months later about committing the murders. Evans said he went to the Detroit Police in 2008 and gave a statement that "Little Jay" committed the murders. It was also discovered that "Little Jay" bragged to other people about commtting the murders. Based on the new exculpatory eyewitness evidence and Clark's recantation, on October 17, 2017 Ahmed filed a petition for a new trial that was granted in September 2018 by Judge Evans. On September 5, 2018 Evans ordered Ahmed's release on a $250,000 and that he wear a GPS device. The Wayne County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Ahmed, and their motion to dismiss the charges against him without prejudice was granted on October 26, 2018. If new evidence of Ahmed's guilt surfaces, the DA's Office can refile the charges against him. In addition to the new eyewitness evidence, his lack of involvement in the murders is supported by other evidence. Ahmed had a federal drug conviction prior to the murders, and it was discovered years after his convictions that at the time of the double murder he was under surveillance by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA surveillance showed that Ahmed had no relatinoship with either murder victim and he was not driving the type of car involved in the murder." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the new DEA exculpatory evidence Ahmed submitted a petition for a new trial that was granted in September 2018 by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans. On September 5, 2018 Evans ordered Ahmed's release on a $250,000 and that he wear a GPS device. The Wayne County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Ahmed, and their motion to dismiss the charges agianst him was granted on October 26, 2018." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Michigan Innocence Clinic and University of Michigan Law School. |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
31 |
Age When Released: |
48 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Charges dropped against man who wrongfully spent 16 years in prison for a Detroit double murder, By Koco McAboy (Reporter) and Dane Sager Kelly, ClickOnDetroit.com, October 26, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/charges-dropped-against-man-who-wrongfully-spent-16-years-in-prison-for-a-detroit-double-murder |
Information Source 2: |
"Man convicted in 2001 Detroit murder granted new trial after 16 years in prison: Mubarez Ahmed to be released on bond, By Koco McAboy (Reporter), ClickOnDetroit.com, September 5, 2018" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/man-convicted-in-2001-detroit-murder-granted-new-trial-after-16-years-in-prison |
Information Source 3: |
"Defendant's Motion For Relief From Judment, No. 01-3529-FC, Wayne County Circuit Court, October 17, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.scribd.com/document/391692561/Motion-for-Relief-for-Mubarez-Ahmed#from_embed |
Information Source 4: |
"Man exonerated in 2001 Detroit double homicide, By Charles E. Ramirez (Reporter), The Detroit News, Oct. 26, 2018" |
Information Location 4: |
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2018/10/26/man-cleared-detroit-double-homicide/1767365002/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org