Daniel Locus

I. The conviction

Charge

First-degree murder

Year convicted

2010

Sentence

Not specified in available case materials

What contributed to the conviction

Eyewitness identification and jailhouse informant testimony. Five state witnesses -- Patricia Myers, Walter Boyd, Madonna Caraballo, Angela Bumpers, and jailhouse informant Ernest Braxton -- all testified under oath that they received nothing from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for testifying, which was false. The sole eyewitness, Patricia Myers, was shown a single photograph of Locus (not a proper photo array) before identifying him, and gave inconsistent accounts of the shooting.

II. Evidence of innocence

1. 1. On the phone, blocks away, when the shot was fired

   Daniel Locus was on a live call with Larry McMillan the moment Anthony Ball was shot. Frank Alexander, who was with McMillan, heard Locus yell "Oh shit" and then "I think this guy got shot" over speakerphone -- in real time, before anyone else knew what happened.

2. 2. No physical evidence ties him to the shooting

   No murder weapon was ever recovered and no fingerprints connected Locus to the scene. The lead investigator testified at trial that there was no forensic evidence linking him to Ball's death.

3. 3. Multiple witnesses saw someone else

   Malikah Colvin watched from a window and saw a man "who was not Daniel Locus" talking to Ball just before the shooting. Dwayne Johnson saw a different man run from the scene holding a gun. Michelle Massanova identified the shooter as a man known as "Pooh Bear."

III. Newly discovered evidence

1. 1. Suppressed statements from the witness on the phone

   Larry McMillan -- the person Locus was talking to when the shot rang out -- gave three additional statements and took lie detector tests after his first interview. None of it was turned over to the defense.

2. 2. McMillan's credibility was relied on by the State itself

   McMillan was later used as a witness against Camden police officers who framed people for drug offenses -- a fact that supports his reliability but was never disclosed to Locus's defense.

3. 3. A 2014 statement reaffirming his innocence

   In 2014, Michelle Massanova told investigators again that Locus, known as "Philly," was not in the area when Ball was shot and arrived only afterward. She appeared at his post-conviction hearing willing to testify but was not permitted to.

4. 4. A name that points to someone else

   Government records identify James L. Williams -- not Daniel Locus -- as the person known by the nickname "Pooh Bear," the name multiple witnesses used for the actual shooter.

IV. Due-process violations

1. 1. False testimony about witness benefits

   Patricia Myers, Walter Boyd, Madonna Caraballo, Angela Bumpers, and jailhouse informant Ernest Braxton all testified under oath that they received nothing from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for testifying. That was false.

2. 2. A single-photo identification

   Investigator Bruno showed Patricia Myers a single photograph of Locus -- not a proper photo array -- before she identified him as the shooter.

3. 3. Evidence never disclosed under Brady

   The State's duty to disclose favorable evidence extends to anything affecting witness credibility. McMillan's later statements and lie detector tests were never turned over, in violation of Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States.

V. Unreliable evidence

1. 1. The only eyewitness changed her story

   Patricia Myers, the sole witness who claimed to see the shooting, gave a different account at trial than she gave police, and admitted she had used heroin and crack cocaine earlier that day.

2. 2. A witness who admitted he never saw a gun

   Walter Boyd testified he saw Locus running after the gunshot and assumed he was the shooter -- but admitted on cross-examination that he never saw a gun or saw Locus shoot anyone.

3. 3. Physical evidence contradicts the State's theory

   The shell casing and the close-range gunshot wound point to a shooter approaching from an alleyway beside the house -- not from across the street, where the State's witnesses placed Locus.

VI. Documents

VII. Take action

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