Jury Acquits In Drug Distribution Case
On April 13, 2009, a Richmond jury acquitted Damien Godwell* of distribution of cocaine. In this case argued by Horace F. Hunter, the jury found not only that the evidence was insufficient to convict Mr. Godwell, but that it was probably a case of mistaken identity.
The case stemmed from a police raid on the Whitcomb Court Housing Development on January 9, 2009. Approximately 7 or 8 Richmond police officers from a special narcotics unit conducted a ‘cowboy’ style raid on the housing development in an effort to round up suspected drug dealers and other individuals suspected in illegal activity. After storming the housing development, roughly 15 to 20 youths began running in different directions as the police attempted to coral them. The problem was that most of the individuals running were not involved in any criminal activity, but merely running because of the chaos of the situation.
An officer testified that he saw Mr. Godwell make a throwing motion in the direction that crack cocaine was later found. He also testified that Mr. Godwell confessed that the items found were his. The problem with the testimony was that it was apparent that the individual he was initially chasing was not Mr. Godwell. He did not make the arrest, another officer apprehended the defendant and the officer arrived later and identified him as the person who made the throwing motion. The problem was that after a close look at the area where the arrest took place, Mr. Godwell could not have been the person he was chasing.
The other problem with the Commonwealth’s case was that the ‘confession’ did not seem to make sense. The defendant initially denied that crack cocaine found was his. However, the officer testified that without any prompting or any questioning, the defendant confessed that the drugs were his and he was there to sell drugs. None of this made any sense to the jury that was legitimately left wondering why someone would confess to a crime without being questioned by anyone.
This case demonstrates that ‘confessions’ need to be highly scrutinized. The police simply showing up and saying that a suspect confessed is not and should not be enough without more to convict someone of a serious crime.
*This is not the defendant’s real name
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