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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Terry Lewis Morris
http://iippi.org/inmates/michigan/terrylewismorris.html
Potential error of justice: State of Michigan versus Terry Lewis Morris. ... Genesee County 7th Circuit Court .... Teresa "Coota" Spicer had Mary Williams' blood on the bottom of one of her socks. ... Unknown Members of a Rival Drug-Gang ... |
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:01 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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This case started during the infamous "Crack Wars " of the 1980's.
Case No: 87-37651-FC
Date of the Crime: 02-05-1987
Date of Conviction: 07-02-1987
Sentenced to 6 non-parolable life terms, 2 life terms and consecutively 2 years (6 terms)
for 4 counts of First Degree Murder
2 counts of Felony Murder
2 counts of Armed Robbery
6 counts of Possession of Firearm During Commission of Felony
Terry Lewis Morris
possibly innocent in Michigan
Terry L. Morris
# 189283
Michigan Reformatory
1342 W. Main
Ionia, MI 48846
USA
DOB 02-12-1969
(juvenile when these crimes were committed)
THE CASE
Your donation is vital to IIPPI.
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Terry Morris in prison.
How you can help
Determination must be made in lower courts to find out first, if I was competent to stand trial. I was a juvenile and turned 18 in the county jail. I could not read or write and did not understand my rights.
I need an Evidentiary Hearing so that the expert reports, the crime scene reports, and several witnesses' statements (Noble Martin, Martez Kemp, Cab Driver Sanders, and all the police officers who investigated Noble Martin) can be made a matter of the record.
I also need an Evidentiary Hearing on the grounds of ineffective assistance of trial counsel for his failure to:
1.present the theory that Noble Martin removed ballistic evidence from the crime scene and had motive to have committed the crime.
2.impeach the prosecution key witness Martez Kemp with his four inconsistant statements.
3.Counsel's stipulation to allow a police officer to testify in hearsay fashion to all the experts and other officers' reports caused counsel to fail in calling over 32 witnesses.
Ballistics experts could find out what gun killed whom. Ballistics experts also could examine whether or not the casings Noble Martin removed from the crime scene were linked to the homicides.
You can contact me directly by snail mail to the postal address above, or by email on the JPay.com website.
Introduction
In the morning hours of February 5, 1987, six African-Americans were shot to death at 1010 E. Russell Avenue in Flint, Michigan. The residence was a known drug house, where teenagers were coming and going on a regular basis. The victims were:
(1) Mary Lee Wílliams (44 y/o). She was victim "Juice's" mother and known generally to everybody in the gang as "Mother."
(2) Donald "Juice" Williams (19 y/o). His mother was victim Mary Lee Williams. "Juice" was a drug dealer and had several kids working for him.
(3) Deaundric "Dee" Collins (18 y/o)
(4) André "Julio" Adams (17 y/o)
(5) Darryol "Dingo" Humphrey (20 y/o)
(6) Teresa "Coota" Spicer (18 y/o).
Rodney Williams ("Juice's" brother and Mary Lee William's second son) had found the victims and called the police. Officers Johnny Goodman and Scott Sutter of the Flint Police Department were sent to the crime scene at 10:53 A.M.
When the policemen arrived, they saw two female black teenagers (Danielle Moore and Selena Moore) out in the street in front of the house screaming and crying. The front door was standing half open. The officers entered and saw several bodies scattered about. In the living-room, Officer Goodman met Noble Martin. Martin was the home owner, in his 50s and victim Mary Lee William's lover or boy-friend. He told the officers that he had checked the house and that everyone was dead. Noble Martin later admitted to police that he had removed some items from the crime scene before the officers arrived, but he has never testified at Terry Morris' trial because the defense attorney waived him.
The patrol officers alerted the homicide squad and the six victims were transported to Hurley Medical Center for examination. In addition to the bodies, a 12 gauge pump shotgun (serial number G499179), an empty .38 Special Caliber Arminius, Titan Tiger model six shot revolver (serial number 0513607), numerous fired bullets, numerous fired cartridge cases, and live ammunition were found at the scene.
On April 25, 1987, two and a half months after the crime, a neighbor was moving his yard and found a rusty .38 Special Caliber Smith & Wesson six shot revolver (serial number D303110). It was determined that the gauch shotgun and the Smith & Wesson revolver had been used against the victims as well as a .357 weapon, which was not recovered.
State's Theory
District Attorney John P. McGraw based his theory on the State's star witness Martez Kemp and Terry Morris' (aka "Headman") past criminal history as a juvenile. Kemp stated that Morris had confessed the killings at 1010 E. Russell Avenue in Flint, Michigan to him.
Terry Morris' Alibi
Morris' theory is that he was solely prosecuted because he was the only one of the drug ring who was left and still alive. Since he was not killed, he allegedly is the perpetrator. There is no physical evidence as any kind of traces that links Morris to the crime and makes him a suspect. No weapons were found anywhere near him. Only perjured testimony is the strongest evidence which got him convicted and, therefore, he is in prison.
Terry Morris has denied any knowledge of the killings and maintained his innocence from the start. He says that he did not commit the crimes and that he was at his mother's house because he had agreed to babysit his 5-year-old nephew.
Victims Deaundric "Dee" Collins and André "Julio" Adams drove Morris to his mother's home at 217 E. Alma Street sometime in the very early morning of February 5, 1987. Morris had the key and entered. The house was quiet. Morris went to his bedroom, took off his clothes, and went to sleep.
Then, his 5-year old nephew Christopher Baker woke him up with a plastic bat he used to play with. The little boy hit Morris a few times with the bat. Christopher told Morris that his mother had been calling for him. Then, Christopher went back to his bedroom.
A few minutes later, Morris was woken up by his mother. She asked him why Morris had not answered her when she had been calling him? Morris told her that he was asleep. His mother repeated that she had told him the day before that she wanted him to watch Christopher, and went back downstairs. Morris then got up out of bed to babysit.
Around 12:00 AM, Martez Kemp (Terry Morris' cousin) called Morris and said that Juice and the whole family were dead. Morris did not believe Kemp. Seconds after getting off the phone, the telephone rang again. It was Morris' girl-friend Latrece, who called and claimed the same thing. This time, Morris gave Kemp a call and asked him to go down the street to see if it was true. Morris did not go to Russell Avenue himself because he had warrants and knew the police would be there.
Around 1:30 PM of the same day, Latrece came to Morris by car to bring him cigarettes. She told him that Martez Kemp, Terrell (Morris' step-father's grandson), and her daughter were in the car. Morris called out to them to come in. Latrece did not have much time and left. As she was going out of the house, Kemp was coming in the house.
Morris asked Kemp why he had not called him back. He told Morris that things were crazy and that he had not had time. Kemp asked Morris if he had talked to the police yet, and Morris responded something like "If I did, I wouldn't be here because, you know, there are warrants out for my arrest."
Kemp told Morris that Mother, Juice, Dingo, Coota, Dee, and Julio were killed. He asked Morris not to tell the police about him stealing Juice's sweatsuit. Morris looked at him and asked, "That's all your sorry ass is worrying about?" Kemp replied something like, "Yeah! Man, I don't want them sweating me about anything." Kemp then wanted to go get his hair done. When he said that, Morris' reaction was: "All you think about is yourself." Kemp then asked Morris if Juice gave him a fresh sack of rocks. Morris answered, "Yeah, he gave me 300 Dollars worth." According to Morris Kemp replied that he got the same, and that, at least, they do not have to pay anything back, and they can just keep the sack. At this point of time, Morris' step-father came home and Morris left his mother's house with Kemp, Latrece, Terrell, and the little girl. They dropped Kemp off at Beauty All Over.
At Latrece's home, Morris smoked a crack joint with Terrell. Morris asked Terrell if he wanted to sell the sack Juice had given him. Morris says Terrell was acting funny. He asked Terrell what was wrong with him? According to Morris, Terrell said, "Martez told him that you killed those people on Russell." Morris could not believe what he heard and asked Terrell to repeat what he had just said. When Morris heard the shocking allegation again, he defended himself and said that he had not killed anyone. Morris asked Terrell if he believed Kemp, and Terrell answered, "No."
After a while, the two boys went over to Terrell's home. When Terrell and his girl-friend had left for a moment, the phone rang and Morris answered. It was Terrell's mother (Morris' step-father's daughter), who did not want her son to associate with Morris. She asked where was Terrell? Morris said that her son had just stepped out and would be back in a few minutes. She did not like this at all. When Terrell had come back in, his mother showed up and asked her son, "Didn't Martez (Kemp) tell you that Headman (Terry Morris) killed the people on Russell?" Terrell answered in the positive, but also stated that he did not believe Kemp. Terrell's mother offered Morris a ride home, and he accepted. When they arrived at Morris' mother's house, she said Morris to tell her father hello and to call her.
When Morris went into the house, her father was sitting on the living-room couch. Morris told him that his daughter was outside. He got up, went to the door, waved at her, and she told him to call her. Morris went to his room, fell asleep, and stayed home the rest of the day.
Investigation by Police
The First Suspect
In the afternoon of February 5, 1987, the Flint police arrested Chris Crain (28 y/o) "on a warrant charging him with conspiracy to deliver cocaine," reported The Flint Journal the other day. Crain was questioned about the possibly drug-related slayings. The State's theory at that time still was that the gunmen had burst into the house and took the six homicide victims by surprise. Two of the victims were found in the back of the house as if they attempted to escape through the sealed shut back door. The investigating Sergeant Ronald Mossman stated to the press that it would "be amazing" if there was only one perpetrator.
On February 6, 1987, Crain was arraigned on unrelated drug charges. Because Flint District Judge Albert "Pat" Horrigan had "information and a high degree of suspicion" that Crain had intimidated witnesses in the past, he set the defendant's bond at US$ 20,000 cash. An area bail bondsman posted the amount in less than two hours, and Crain was set free again. Several cases against him had been dismissed in the past.
Miranda Rights
The mass slayings was a media event, which put a lot of pressure on the investigating law enforcement officers. The culprit had to be found - and fast! On February 8, 1987, Sergeants Charles Monroe and Louis Weller arrested Terry Morris. They took him to Sergeant Ronald Mossman at the homicide squad. Sergeant Mossman interrogated Morris. Later he wrote in his report that he had advised Terry Morris of his constitutional rights from a Miranda warning card and that the arrestee was a suspect in the killings of six people. Morris did not sign the Miranda warning and says that his statement was in violation of his Miranda rights because it was erroneous and not completed. Mossman's and Morris' statements are one word against the other.
Sergeant Mossman told Morris that Martez Kemp was downstairs givng a statement saying Morris killed the six people on Russell. Morris says he told Mossman that if Kemp testified that, it is a pure lie. According to Morris, his request for an attorney angered Sergeant Mossman. Morris says Mossman stood up, put his finger in Morris' face, stated he will give him an attorney, and kicked Morris in the mid-section of his body. Sergeant Mossman had him booked on six counts of murder.
Prosecutor McGraw asked Sergeant Mossman in direct examination (Trial Transcript: TT. Vol. 3, pages 51-52):
Q. All right. Did he talk to you voluntarily, sir?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. All right, I wonder if you'd indicate in some detail what you had to say to him and what he had to say to you?
A. Are you referring to the Miranda warning?
Q. No, actually just the meat of the matter.
A. All right.
Q. I take it you gave him certain cautions to begin with and he agreed to talk to you?
A. Yes.
Terry Morris says that his trial attorney has never done any investigation on Morris' statement to Mossman or any adversary testing on this matter. Morris informed defense attorney David S. Grant, Jr. that Sergeant Mossman has never read him his Miranda rights and kicked the arrestee because the sergeant wanted to end the interview. Grant asked Sergeant Mossman during cross-examination (TT. Vol. 3, page 73):
Q. Now, the time that you interviewed Mr. Morris, do you know approximately how long it took, the interview lasted?
A. About twenty-five minutes.
Q. Twenty-five minutes. During that twenty-five minutes at any time did you - I know you indicated that you read him his Miranda rights. But did you kick him at any time during that interview?
A. Did I kick him?
Q. Yes.
A. No, absolutely not.
Q. You did not. Was the interview given in one part or two parts?
A. It was actually one part as it turned out.
Q. Okay. And, you said when it first began you were not taking notes, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. There came a time that you did start taking notes, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Terry Morris in prison.
External Links
The Flint Journal
February 5, 1987: "6 Bodies Found Here" (front page)
February 6, 1987: "Police Question Man in 6 Slayings" (front page and A2)
February 7, 1987: "Search Intensifies For Leads in Mass Slayings" (front page)
February 7, 1987: "Man Held in Slayings Set Free" (front page)
news.google.com/newspapers
The Argus Press, Owosso, Michigan
Monday, March 21, 1987
Teenager Claims He Was Framed
http://genealogytrails.com/ill/pulaski/obits_y/mary_young.html
Obituary: Mary Gwenivee "Granny" Young (Terry Morris' mother)
http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/flint/obituary.aspx?pid=156502669#fbLoggedOut
Judge Albert "Pat" Horrigan's Obituary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint,_Michigan
Wikipedia: Flint, Michigan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_County,_Michigan
Wikipedia: Genesee County
http://www.gc4me.com/departments/circuit_court_7th/index.php
Genesee County 7th Circuit Court
http://coa.courts.mi.gov/
Michigan Court of Appeals
http://www.courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/
Michigan Supreme Court
Terry Morris' version is this:
1.Sergeant Ronald Mossman has never advised him of his constitutional righs in relation to his Miranda rights.
2.Sergeant Mossman told him that everyone who had worked for "Juice" was a suspect, and Mossman just wanted to ask Morris a few questions.
3.Although Sergeant Mossman had equipment to properly record Terry Morris' statement, and it was readily available, Sergeant Mossman did not tape record it. The interview was not video taped. There were no witnesses to the interview. Sergeant Mossman was not taking any notes.
4.Sergeant Mossman did not inform Morris that he was under arrest for the murders. The arresting officers informed Morris that he was under arrest because of the old warrants he had, which were unrelated to the murders.
5.Terry Morris has never signed any statements.
6.Terry Morris has never told Sergeant Mossman that he had argued with victim Donald "Juice" Williams about taking Juice's sweatsuit. Morris told Mossman that when he woke up over at 1010 E Russell Avenue, Juice was arguing with the guys, who were in the house in the back bedroom, about one of his sweatsuits being missing. Morris did not have on the missing sweatsuit that Juice was looking for. Morris did wear one of Juice's sweatsuits, but Juice gave him permission to use it. Juice asked Morris to take off the sweatsuit because he was making everyone else return his items. Morris put on his own blue jeans.
Juice had eveyone in this backroom for about 25 minutes. While in this room, Juice was using cocaine. Leon Lewis and Juice got into a fight because Juice fired a handgun at the feet of Leon Lewis. Lewis tried to leave before Juice was done talking to him. Morris asked Juice for the handgun which was Dingo's .38, and Juice gave the gun to Morris. Juice then picked up a plate of cocaine and snorted some in his nose. Morris put the gun under the mattress in the other back bedroom.
When Juice was done talking to the guys and beating up Leon Lewis, everyone went back into the living-room and sat down and watched TV. It was around 11:30 PM. Leon and the guys he had come with were trying to leave, but Juice was trying to get them to go skating with him. Leon Lewis was very upset with Juice. Lewis and his crew left in his car, a brown Regal. The rest of the guys in the house just continued to sit around, watch TV, crack jokes, drink beer, and smoke weed.
At this time, three females, Morris did not know, knocked on the door. Dee let them in and the girls sat in the living-room for about 30 minutes. Juice was ready to go to Skateland. It was around midnight. He asked Morris if he wanted to go. Before he could answer, Juice told him that he could put the sweatsuit back on if he wanted. Morris told Juice that he did not want to go skating because he did not want to be in the limelight due to his warrants. All of the guys in the house went to Skateland with Juice except for Martez Kemp and Terry Morris. Juice asked Morris to watch the house until he would get back. He also said Morris that if any girls come by to tell them he (Juice) would be back in 45 minutes.
When they were gone, Kemp and Morris had a conversation about Kemp stealing Juice's sweatsuit. Kemp stated that if he had known Juice was going to act like this, he would have put it back. Kemp said that the sweatsuit was for his mother, who was in prison at the time. He wanted to send it to her for her birthday. Kemp asked Morris not to tell Juice that Kemp took the sweatsuit. Morris promised not to tell. Around 12:30 AM, Kemp was going home on foot.
About twenty minutes later, a small gray car pulled in the driveway. "Coota" got out, knocked on the door. Morris did not know her and he was shocked when she said, "Hi Headman, where is Dingo?" Morris told her that Dingo and Juice went out to Skateland and they would be back in about 15 minutes. Morris invited Coota and her friends who were in the car to come in the house until Dingo and Juice would return. Coota, however, preferred to wait in the car, and Morris turned on the porch light for them.
About ten minutes later, Coota knocked on the door. She asked Morris if she could wait for Dingo in the house. Morris let her in. He asked her about her friends in the car and she told him that they had to go home. Morris asked her if she wanted a beer. Coota replied that she raelly did not drink but that she would take one. Morris got her a can of beer out of the refrigerator. They were watching TV in the living-room and had a general conversation about everything and nothing. Twenty minutes later, Juice and the crew returned.
At this time, Morris lost track of the time and people. People were coming and going the rest of the night. He only remembers that when he left with Dee Collins and Julio, Juice was half-sleep on the couch in the dining-room. There were some females, who had come back with Juice from Skateland, still in the living-room watching TV. Dee told Juice he was going to go (in Juice's car, a black Lincoln Continental) get some more beer and drop Morris off at home. Morris says that this was the last time he saw Juice alive. Dingo and Coota were in the back bedroom next to the bathroom and the door was closed.
Exculpatory Evidence
State's Star Witness Martez Kemp's Inconsistencies (pdf, 13 pages)
Ballistics:
State Police Specialist John H. Willmer's laboratory report states:
Examination of the firearms evidence recovered from the six autopsies and scene revealed the following:
A total of 12 fired bullets were recovered from the six autopsies with an additional 30 fired bullets recovered from the scene.
Of the 42 total fired bullets, 11 fired bullets from the autopsies ... and at least 7 fired bullets from the scene, ... are believed to have been discharged from firearms during the last shooting incident.
All 18 of the above bullets are characteristic of being .38 Special caliber fired lead bullets exhibiting class rifling specifications of five lands and grooves with a right twist. Of the 18 fired bullets, five (5) fired bullets ... are identified with each other as having been fired from the same firearm. In addition (2) of the remaining bullets, ... are identified with each other as having been fired from the same firearm, and in my opinion, could have been fired from a second firearm.
Laboratory Report (Firearms) (pdf, page 5 and 6 of 7 pages)
reported on March 25, 1987
by State Police Specialist John H. Willmer
Suplementary Report to the Circuit Court:
A .38 caliber casing found at the corner of the house was not identified with anything, including the Arminius brand handgun recovered inside the house. A further discovery by John Willmer was that the slugs taken from the body of Treasie [Teresa] Spicer were identified as coming from the Smith & Wesson handgun found in the yard of Mr. King. All other slugs found in the other bodies probably came from the unrecovered gun #2 but were not identified as such.
Supplementary Report - Additional History (pdf, page 2 of 5 pages)
Blood Reports:
The State's theory was entirely based on its star witness Martez Kemp's perjured testimony. Kemp claimed Terry L. Morris had told him that Mary Williams came into the house, when everyone else was already dead. Thus, Morris shot her last.
But, why did Mary Williams have 25 gunshot wounds to her body, compared to the rest of the victims, who only had one, two or three wounds (TT. Vol. 2, p. 66-69)? The answer to this question is that the State's whole theory is wrong and cannot be proven.
The problem with Kemp's statement is that the evidence does not support his testimony. Mary Williams was not killed last. The evidence supports this fact. Teresa "Coota" Spicer had Mary Williams' blood on the bottom of one of her socks. Spicer had to be alive in order to step in Williams' blood. This means that Williams was killed before Spicer, and it undermines Kemp's testimony. It also contradicts the prosecutor's case. (TT. Vol. 1, pages 142-144).
Mary Williams' blood was "AB0 A Glo 2-1 Esd 1 Pgm 2-1".
Mary Williams' blood was the only one that matched the chart a 100%. The blood on the bottom of Teresa Spicer's sock (item number 37) proves that she had to have stepped in Mary Williams' blood. Mary Williams had to have been killed before Teresa Spicer, and not last as Kemp stated. (See Kemp's statement February 9, 1987, page 11)(DC. Vol. 1, p. 7) (TT. Vol. 2, p. 199-200).
State Police Specialist Michael F. Wolner was mistaken when he erroneously reported that "the blood on item #37, on the bottom of the sock (item 57) of victim #5 [Teresa Spicer], item 117, and item #151 could have come from Donald Williams and not from any other victim."
Laboratory Report (Micro-chemicals/ blood) (pdf, 4 pages)
reported on April 9, 1987
by State Police Specialist Michael F. Wolner
Potential Suspects (other than Terry L. Morris)
There is evidence that someone other than Terry Morris could have committed these crimes. There are three or more further suspects:
Unknown Members of a Rival Drug-Gang
Terry Morris says that it was a fact that the Williams family ("Juice", his mother, and brothers) had left Detroit because of bad related drug deals. Morris claims it is also known that Donald "Juice" Williams ran off with drugs from guys who were from Detroit. The number of shots fired in this case could support this theory.
Firearm expert Wilmer concluded that the two recovered guns very likely were used only on one of the victims Tracy Spicer (See Wilmer's Laboratory Report). This means we have five more victims, but no more guns. The prosecutor's case and theory is unsupported by the firearm evidence. The prosecutor at trial stated to the jury in his closing argument, "Before very long, however, you know that all the weapons that were used in these killings aren't something that were brought there by a strange drug gang, the Chris Crain that interested Mr. Grant so much here. You know it wasn't them. Because what drug gang is gonna come alone and not bring guns with them and they're gonna use the ones that are already at the house? You just know there's something wrong with that. There's nothing in the whole case to suggest that Chris Crane or any of these other competitors did this." (TT. Vol III, Pg. 112-113).
Chris Crain
Chris Crain of Flint, Michigan, was the first suspect in this crime. He allegedly was boasting about having killed everyone at 1010 E. Russell Avenue. See the Circuit Court History (CCH): Martez Kemp Pg. 13, De André Alexander Pg. 15, John Clark Pg. 18, Leon Lewis Pg. 22, Corey Wade Pg. 23, Connelle Wade Pg. 23, Noble Martin Pg. 25, Pricilla and Vincent Williams Pg. 25. Those statements might be rumors and hearsay only, but it is the same type of evidence Terry Morris is incarcerated for. Terry Morris has been trying to get his hands on Chris Crain's police report of February 5, 1987, but he has not been able to obtain it.
Out of all the statements and news reports concerning Crain, Morris' counsel failed to truly develope the facts that Crain had motive. See the defense's cross-examination of Deandre Alexander (TT. Vol. II, Pg. 113-114):
Q. Do you recall telling Sergeant Smith the afternoon of the murders, approximatley 12:35 P.M. when Sergeant Smith asked you if Juice had any problems with and that you stated Juice had alot of enemies mainly dope dealers?
A. He most likely did.
Q. Well no, my question to you is do you recall telling Sergeant Smith that, the same day of the murders occurred?
A. It's been so long, hey, I don't remember all that.
Q. Well, did you just read it?
A. Yeah, I read it.
Q. Okay, as a matter of fact, you even went as far as naming a name.
A. Yeah, I named a name.
Q. What name did you name?
A. I say he has a little conflict between him and Chris Crain had a little thing going.
Q. I see.
A. A little argument.
The court: What's the name?
The witness: Chris Crane
The Court: Crane
The Witness: Yeah.
See also Leon Lewis (TT. Vol. II, 125-126). Morris' counsel dropped the ball on Crain. This is why we do not have all the facts on record. Counsel never got Crain's police reports in relation to the killings. Trial counsel did not call any of the other witnesses or the police who interviewed the witnesses, coupled with the fact that he stipulated with the prosecutor to waive all the experts related to this case. He only called one defense witness, the defendant's mother.
Noble Martin
Noble Martin was the home owner of the house, where the homicides took place. Martin admitted he was the owner of the only murder weapon recovered at the crime scene (the shotgun)(CCH Pg. 24). Noble Martin also was the victim Mary Williams' boy-friend. He checked in at the local Best Western Motel the night in question. However, he was on the scene of the crime before the police arrived, he had access to the weapons, and he later also admitted that he had removed evidence. The shell casings that he had removed were later matched to a recovered handgun found in a neighbor's garden (CCH Pg. 33). Victim Mary Williams had 24 bullet wounds, and the rest of the victims was "only" shot two to three times. Williams' murder may have been passionate overkill.
Leon Lewis
Leon Lewis has motive because victim and drug ring leader Donald "Juice" Williams had beaten him up in front of all present group members the evening or night before the killings.
Legal Analysis
Legal Analysis of Terry Lewis Morris' criminal case (pdf, 22 pages)
Documents
Basic Information Report about Terry Lewis Morris (pdf, 14 pages)
Monique Pugh's Statement to Police (pdf, 5 pages)
February 5, 1987
Terry Morris' Arrest on February 8, 1987 (pdf, 2 pages)
reported on February 9, 1987
and Supplement of February 19, 1987
Case Register of Actions (pdf, 5 pages)
from February 9, 1987 through March 28, 2007
Crime Scene Investigation Report (pdf, 9 pages)
written on February 16, 1987
Supplementary Report - Additional History (pdf, 5 pages)
Neighbor Jack King found a rusty Smith & Wesson handgun in his yard two and a half months after the crime.
Circuit Court History (CCH) (pdf, 48 pages)
Detailed report about the investigation and the statements by all interviewed witnesses
Laboratory Report (Latent Print) (pdf, 4 pages)
reported on March 9, 1987
by State Police Specialist James J. Silva
Laboratory Report (Firearms) (pdf, 7 pages)
reported on March 25, 1987
by State Police Specialist John H. Willmer
Laboratory Report (Crime Scene) (pdf, 14 pages)
reported on April 8, 1987
Laboratory Report (Micro-chemicals/ blood) (pdf, 4 pages)
reported on April 9, 1987
by State Police Specialist Michael F. Wolner
Laboratory Report (Firearm) (pdf, 2 pages)
reported on May 11, 1987
by State Police Specialist John H. Willmer
Laboratory Report (Firearm) (pdf, 3 pages)
reported on May 11, 1987
by State Police Specialist John H. Willmer
Trial Transcript
First Stipulation (pdf, 2 pages)
TT. Vol. I, pg. 4-5
Opening Statement by the State (pdf, 14 pages)
Opening Statement by the Defense (pdf, 10 pages)
Prosecutor and Defense Attorney agree to stipulate
Anthony Henry's Testimony (pdf, 31 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 26-57
Dr. David E. Congdon's Testimony (pdf, 15 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 58-72
Rahjeah L. Wise's Testimony (pdf, 28 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 73-100
DeAndré Alexander's Testimony (pdf, 16 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 101-116
Leon L. Lewis' Testimony (pdf, 11 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 117-127
Rodney Williams' Testimony (pdf, 18 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 128-145
Dr. Cathy Blight's Testimony (pdf, 12 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 146-157
Robert L. Williams' Testimony (pdf, 8 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 158-165
Priscilla A. Davis' Testimony (pdf, 8 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 166-173
Martez H. Kemp's Testimony (pdf, 42 pages)
TT. Vol. II, pg. 193-234
Edwin J. Caldwell's Testimony (pdf, 16 pages)
TT. Vol. III, pg. 3-18
Sergeant Ronald Mossman's Testimony (pdf, 32 pages)
TT. Vol. III, pg. 50-80
Mary G. M. Young's Testimony (pdf, 18 pages)
TT. Vol. III, pg. 81-98
Discussion before the Jury Instruction: Prosecutor, Defendant's Counsel, Judge (pdf, 7 pages)
TT. Vol. III, pg. 102-108
Closing Argument by the State (pdf, 6 pages)
Closing Argument by the Defense (pdf, 21 pages)
Rebuttal by the State (pdf, 2 pages)
Excerpt of the Jury Instruction (pdf, 1 page)
TT. Vol. III, pg. 150
Sentencing (pdf, 17 pages)
July 29, 1987
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:05 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint's murder rate is now higher than in the "Crack War" years!
The Flint Journal presents:
Journal File Photo
In 1987, neighbors and news crews gathered as news of the city's worst-ever mass murder unfolded. The shoothing death of six people at 1010 E. Russell Ave. was linked to the booming and lethal trade in crack cocaine.
When crack was king, Flint paid in blood
By Ken Palmer
Flint Journal Staff Writer
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No one knows exactly when, but in the early 1980s a new form of cocaine came to town � cheap, smokable, mercilessly addictive � and practically cracked the foundations of Flint.
Crack was its name, and within months its booming trade ushered in a wave of violence: armed robberies, drive-by shootings, burglaries and murder.
One Flint investigator estimated that two-thirds of Flint robberies during the late 1980s were committed by “crackheads.”
The number of murders in the city rose from 32 in 1983 to an all-time high of 61 by 1986. The total fell to 52 in 1987 and then to 44 in 1988.
But in 1989, 57 people were murdered the third-highest total on record.
To many who saw the carnage first hand, the 1980s were the Decade of Crack. And nowhere was the devastation more brutal or more focused than at a north Flint address in 1987.
On Feb. 4 of that year, the bungalow at 1010 E. Russell Ave. became the site of the worst mass killing in the city’s history.
Donald “Juice” Williams, a street-level crack dealer who used the house as a base for his drug ring, was executed along with his mother and four teenage friends, allegedly by an associate bent on revenge.
The murders devastated the largely working-class neighborhood and helped brand Flint as Cracktown, USA.
Night of death
In the months before he was killed, Williams, 21, ran a small to medium-sized drug ring that competed with other drug gangs.
Bedecked in flashy rings, a gold medallion and designer sweat suits, he was known to tool around in a limousine like a street celebrity.
Although turf battles with other gangs sometimes led to violence, it was politics within his own ranks that apparently led to Williams’ demise.
Police said Terry “Head Man” Morris, a gang lieutenant and enforcer who was feuding with Williams over a series of recent incidents, shot Williams in the head as he lay on a couch.
Also killed were Williams’ mother, Mary L. Williams, 44, along with Darryol Humphrey, 20, Treasie Spicer, 18, Deaundric Collins, 18, and Andre Adams, 17. Some were shot numerous times.
Morris, then 17, allegedly owed Williams for smoking up crack he was supposed to be selling.
On the night of the murders, Williams had lined up Morris and several other operatives in a back bedroom of the bungalow and interrogated them about a missing sweat suit, firing shots at their feet. Later, a humiliated Morris shot Williams as he lay on the couch, then systematically gunned down the other victims, police said.
Based largely on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of a friend who said Morris told him he did the killings, Morris was convicted several months later in Genesee County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to eight life prison terms.
Creeping menace
Police and social workers trace crack’s arrival in Flint to 1983 or 1984. Its trade spawned turf battles among rival drug rings, and drive-by shootings were a daily occurrence, police said.
Murder victims typically were teenage males.
Dealers from Detroit ran crack houses on Flint’s north side, hoping to cash in on the higher crack prices here. Consequently, young men from Detroit and elsewhere began showing up dead on the street and in abandoned houses.
The late 1980s also marked the emergence of organized street gangs in Flint. And drugs were only part of their activity.
Emulating high-profile gangs in Los Angeles and New York, Flint gangs began wearing colors and staking out neighborhoods as territory
.
Police identified groups known as the D-Boys, P-Boys (or Project Boys), Six-Os, Selby Hood and the South End Boys. Gangs often recruited their mostly teenaged membership through coercion and intimidation and put them through initiation rites. They often cruised the streets better armed than the police; some crime scenes were littered with shell casings.
But it was the brutality of the crack-driven murders that often stunned hardened cops, prosecutors and judges.
As the decade ended, three young Flint men and a juvenile were charged and convicted in the murder of a 19-year-old drug dealer who was tortured for days with hot knives and other objects, then bludgeoned with a concrete block after an assailant tried to hang him with a bedsheet.
Witnesses testified that Lawrence White was killed over a missing bag of crack and a missing handgun.
The murder rate did not fall significantly until 1995, reaching a modern low of 19 in 1997.
“I’ve seen a decline in the drug-related homicides and drive-by shootings,” said Flint Officer Harlon Green, who worked in street enforcement during the height of the crack boom.
“In ’85, ’86 and ’87, when we were dealing with Omar Spearman doing a drive-by a day, it was mostly gangs and drugs.
“There is still a lot of street dealing, but it’s not half as bad as it was in the ’80s and early ’90s,” Green said. “I don’t see the level of organization we had in the ’80s and early ’90s.”
Many of the players in the crack trade during the late 1980s and early ’90s have been convicted, killed or otherwise eliminated, police say.
Spearman, whom a federal agent once described as the most feared man in Flint, was sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the drug-related murders of two people and operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
With the onset of laws boosting penalties for dealing crack, many peddlers switched to powder cocaine. Powder cocaine never brought the violence associated with the more intense and addictive high of crack, Green said.
“Back when I was really young working narcotics, I’d see the true crackheads walking down the street. You don’t see them much anymore.”
Fading legacy
Today, the scene in the neighborhood around E. Russell is different. Mary Rodriguez leaned through her armor-guarded front door, gazed toward the now-nondescript house across the street where Williams and the five others died and struggled to describe even a condensed version of the memory.
“It was just one of those awful times that something bad happened,” said Rodriguez, who asked that her real name not be used.
The former house of horrors looks clean and unremarkable, a fairly typical home in a usually quiet neighborhood. A new apartment complex is under construction to the north, literally touching the back yards along the north side of E. Russell.
As it often is these days, the house is vacant.
“Nobody stays there very long,” said Rodriguez. “Some don’t know about the killings and, sometimes, they find out later on. They should have tore it down. Nobody is going to stay there, especially when they find out that that’s the history of it.”
A handful of boarded-up homes dot the street, particularly near N. Saginaw Street. But neighbors today are more likely to complain about speeding cars than about crime and drug dealing. |
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:46 pm |
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