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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
5 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
4 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Maryland - Federal Case |
County or Region of Crime: |
Baltimore |
City of Crime: |
Baltimore |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Brent Matthews and Umar Burley were codefendants wrongly convicted in 2011 of federal drug charges in Baltimore, Maryland. Their prosecutions were based on the seizure of heroin from the car they were in that was stopped by Baltimore Police Department Officer Sgt. Wayne Jenkins.in April 2010. Jenkins was a part of the Gun Trace Task Force. The men protested their innocence, but faced with draconian sentences if they went to trial and lost, both Burley and Matthews pled guilty. Burley was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Matthews to 5 years. A federal investigation was begun of the Gun Trace Task Force, which resulted in wiretap evidence that Jenkins and other officers were engaged in planting evidence and other crimes. Matthews was released from prison in 2014 after serving about four years in custody, and Burley was released in August 2017. The US Attorney's Office filed a petition to withdraw the guilty pleas of Burley and Matthews based on the new evidence they had been framed by the officers. On December 18, 2017 U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett vacated the convictions of Umar Burley and Brent Matthews on the basis of new evidence that Baltimore Police Department Officers planted the drugs that were seized from the car they were in." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Police corruption by Baltimore PD officers who planted the drugs. The seven Baltimore PD officers indicted in the corruption scandal were all members of the city's Gun Trace Task Force. In March 2017 the seven indicted officers were identified as: Detective Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo, 34; Detective Evodio Calles Hendrix, 32; Detective Daniel Thomas Hersl, 47; Sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins, 36; Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, 36; Detective Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, 30; and, Detective Maurice Kilpatrick Ward, 36." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 18, 2017 U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett vacated the convictions of Umar Burley and Brent Matthews on the basis of new evidence that Baltimore Police Department Officers planted the drugs that were seized from the car they were in." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Judge overturns convictions of men involved in 2010 drug case, By Jayne Miller, WBAL-TV 11 (Baltimore, MD), December 18, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.wbaltv.com/article/judge-overturns-convictions-of-men-involved-in-2010-drug-case/14458116 |
Information Source 2: |
"Judge vacates conviction of man who feds say had drugs planted by Gun Trace Task Force officer, By Justin Fenton (Reporter), The Baltimore Sun, December 18, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-burley-conviction-vacated-20171218-story.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Convictions overturned after Baltimore police indicted, By Mike Murillo, WTOP (Baltimore), March 24, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
https://wtop.com/baltimore/2017/03/convictions-overturned-baltimore-police-indicted/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org