Trial of former homicide detectives charged with lying in a murder case raises questions about evidence
Prosecutors say Martin Devlin, Frank Jastrzembski, and Manuel Santiago lied under oath to keep an innocent man in prison. Defense lawyers say the three simply followed the evidence in a murder case.
As the perjury case again three former Philadelphia homicide detectives accused on lying in a murder trial drew to a close Tuesday, prosecutors called a witness who raised questions about the clothes the detectives said the killer was wearing on the night of crime.
Martin Devlin, Frank Jastrzembski, and Manuel Santiago are charged with lying under oath at the retrial of Anthony Wright, who was convicted in the 1991 rape and murder of 77-year-old Louise Talley in Nicetown. Wright spent more than two decades behind bars before his conviction was overturned when DNA evidence emerged that called into question his guilt. But prosecutors tried him again, and the detectives were key witnesses in Wright’s 2016 retrial, which ended in acquittal and allowed him to walk free.
Prosecutors in District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office later charged the detectives with perjury and false swearing — charges they deny but landed them at the defense table in a Philadelphia courtroom this week.
On Tuesday, a former colleague and now-retired homicide detective, Anthony Tamaino, took the stand and gave testimony at odds with Jastrzembski’s account of finding evidence that the detectives said linked Wright to the crime.
Prosecutors say Devlin and Santiago lied by saying Wright willingly confessed to the crime and that Jastrzembski lied about the physical evidence he said he had gathered in the bedroom of Wright’s home.
According to the detectives, Wright was wearing a distinct outfit on the night of the murder — a red-and-black Chicago Bulls sweatshirt, Fila sneakers, and blue jeans. Jastrzembski said he was the first detective in the room and he found all three items, exactly as Wright had described them in his confession.
In court Tuesday, Tamaino said he, not Jastrzembski, was the first detective in the bedroom where he said he found the sneakers and a “Chicago Blackhawks,” sweatshirt with a distinctive Native American logo.
Initially, he said, “I couldn’t find the dungarees.”
He recalled calling Devlin and Santiago who were back at the homicide unit. On the phone, he said, someone told him to look under the mattress, and there, he said found a pair of jeans.
Doubts later emerged about the clothing found in Wright’s bedroom when DNA evidence found that Talley was likely the one who wore the clothes, not Wright, leading prosecutors to question the detectives’ account of where and when the clothes were found.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins told the jury that Tamaino’s account was “wildly inconsistent” with Jastrzembski’s previous testimony.
Defense attorney Brian McMonagle countered that the retired detective’s recollection could be wrong. He noted that Tamaino had testified that his memory was poor and that his recollection had been refreshed by reading a copy of a deposition he gave years ago in a lawsuit Wright filed against the city after he was acquitted of murder.
McMonagle also faulted prosecutors for failing to call Tamaino as a witness until Monday, giving him only 24 hours to prepare.
At another point in his testimony, Tamaino said he had never threatened a suspect during an interrogation, but prosecutors read aloud a portion of his 2017 deposition in which he was questioned about such tactics and said under oath, “I don’t see a problem with it.”
On the witness stand Tuesday, he added, “I’m not gonna say I didn’t use any force. I’m just gonna say I didn’t use threats,” eliciting audible gasps from the gallery.
Wright has accused two unnamed detectives of threatening him with violence before he said Devlin and Santiago made him sign a false confession. Tamaino is one of several other detectives who were involved in the case.
Also on Tuesday, defense attorneys called about a dozen former law enforcement officials, family members, and friends who testified about the good character of the three detectives.
Earlier, lawyers for the detectives asked the judge to dismiss the case against them, saying prosecutors have not presented sufficient evidence of the crimes of which they are accused. Common Pleas Court Judge Lucretia Clemons denied that request. .
Testimony is to continue this afternoon, when lawyers for the two sides are expected to make closing arguments.