COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. ROBERT WILLIAMS

Transcription

1 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA V. ROBERT WILLIAMS

2 Robert Williams Background. January 24, year-old Williams arrested August 19, 2008 Williams was convicted of possession with intent to deliver narcotics, possession of narcotics, simple assault, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying firearms in public, possession of an instrument of a crime, and carrying a loaded weapon January 16, 2009 Williams sentenced to 11 ½ - 24 months of confinement in county prison plus eight years probation Williams probation was subsequently extended several times for technical violations to run through 2023

3 3 Robert Williams Today Over Ten Years After He Committed His Crime. Is a successful recording artist, professionally known as Meek Mill Is 30 years old Is a father Has not been convicted of another crime Has not missed a court appearance Has been on probation since 2011 On November 6, 2017, Williams was sentenced to 2-to-4 years in state prison for technical probation violations

4 Corruption With Initial Conviction. Serious irregularities in Williams initial conviction raise significant concerns. Williams conviction was based on two events: 1. A drug sale that he could not have made (on January 23) because he was in court with his cousin and his cousin s attorney; and 2. An incident on January 24 where he was beaten so badly that he had to be hospitalized. During his trial, Williams testified regarding that beating: Yeah, I was handcuffed. The handcuff prints on my hand from when you get thrown around with handcuffs, your hands are going to start bleeding because they threw me straight in. There s no way I could put my hands down, every last cop hit me when I got in. I had stitches and all that. I couldn t say nothing to them.... I maybe got knocked out two or three times from getting kicked in my face. I had stitches. I had lumps. If you see my mug shot from the pictures I went out like three times.... I was laying on my stomach, I was being kicked in my face, punched in my face. Williams complaint with Internal Affairs was met by deaf ears; the investigating officers seemed like they weren t concerned about the cops beating me up or nothing. After the arrest, Officer Graham bragged that he arrested that rapper boy Meek Mill and whooped his ass... put a two-inch part in that bull s head he s gonna remember for the rest of his life.

5 Officer Jerold Gibson Comes Clean. Officer Jerold Gibson, who was a member of the Narcotics Field Unit and participated in Mr. Williams arrest, recently admitted that Officer Graham and Officer Johnson had lied on the stand - and that Williams brutal beating was entirely unnecessary. Graham Trial Testimony August 19, 2008 Your Honor, when he pulled the gun from his pants, he pointed the gun in our direction where we were at and he crouched down behind the car, we yelled police several times, drop the gun. Graham Trial Tr. 45: Johnson Sentencing Testimony January 16, 2009 As we approach the property, I didn t see or hear anything. He's behind this van. I come around the van with the ram. He has the gun pointed right to my head. Johnson Sentencing Tr. 76: 8-11 Officer Gerald Gibson Statement February 6, I never saw Mr. Williams lift his gun and point it at Officers Graham and Johnson. 8. I observed Mr. Williams lift the gun out of his waistband in a motion that suggested he was trying to discard the gun. 10. Officers Graham and Johnson did not yell Police or Drop the gun to Mr. Williams. 19. Officer Graham only said Mr. Williams pointed a gun at Officer Graham once Mr. Williams was in custody. Gibson Affidavit 7, 8, 10, 19

6 Officer Jerold Gibson Comes Clean. Officer Jerold Gibson, who was a member of the Narcotics Field Unit and participated in Mr. Williams arrest, recently admitted that Officer Graham and Officer Johnson had lied on the stand - and that Williams brutal beating was entirely unnecessary. Graham Trial Testimony August 19, 2008 After several verbal commands, that s when Mr. Williams then stood up from behind the car and took off running. At which time he tried to duck down between two cars, a little further up from where we were at. Graham Trial Tr. 46: 2-6 Officer Gerald Gibson Statement February 6, Mr. Williams did not stand up from behind the car and take off running. There would not have been room for him to do so. Gibson Affidavit 11

7 Officer Jerold Gibson Comes Clean. Officer Jerold Gibson, who was a member of the Narcotics Field Unit and participated in Mr. Williams arrest, recently admitted that Officer Graham and Officer Johnson had lied on the stand - and that Williams brutal beating was entirely unnecessary. Graham Trial Testimony August 19, 2008 Myself and Officer Johnson tackled him to the ground. During that time he was on his stomach and he wouldn't take his hands from underneath his waist. Finally, we got him cuffed and underneath the car where the struggle ensued between myself and Officer Johnson and the defendant Robert Williams... Graham Trial Tr. 46: 6-13 Police Report January 24, 2007 WHILE TRYING TO HANDCUFF WILLIAMS P/O GRAHAM AND P/O JOHNSON ATTEMPTED TO USE CONTROL HOLDS ON THE DEFENDANT WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS, THE DEFT WAS STRUCK SEVERAL TIMES BY OFFICER S JOHNSON & GRAHAM IN ORDER TO EFFECT THE ARREST. (NECESSARY FORCE WAS USED TO JUSTIFY THE ARREST). Officer Gerald Gibson Statement February 6, I and Officer Graham tackled Mr. Williams. Officer Johnson did not tackle Mr. Williams, as is stated in the Graham's trial testimony from August 19, During the arrest, Mr. Williams did not struggle. Gibson Affidavit 12-13

8 8 Narcotics Field Unit. Williams arresting officer was Reginald Graham Williams testified that all the officers in the squad participated in the assault, but identified Officer James Johnson as the one that beat him most severely Johnson did not testify at Williams trial, perhaps to avoid having to either admit to beating Williams or lie on the stand Graham and Johnson were both part of the Philadelphia Narcotics Field Unit (NFU) A member of the NFU, Jeffrey Walker, pled guilty to attempted robbery and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and began cooperating with federal authorities

9 9 Narcotics Field Unit. Six other members of the NFU were indicted for assault, robbery, kidnapping and false arrests to extort more than $500,000 in cash, drugs, watches and clothing from individuals targeted as drug dealers Although Graham and Johnson were not indicted, they worked with, and were friends with, the indicted officers Following the 2014 indictments of 6 officers in the NFU, over 800 criminal conviction have been vacated following the filing of PCRAs

10 10 Officer Reginald Graham. Graham s Former squad member confirms that Graham is a dirty cop Another member of the Narcotics Field Unit, Jeffrey Walker, reported Graham and other members of the NFU to the FBI After reviewing Williams preliminary arrest report, Walker thought it bears the hallmarks of a fraudulent affidavit, written to manufacture probable cause for a search warrant The officers did not confirm that drugs were sold to the unknown black female they claimed gave Williams money in exchange for small objects It was implausible that Officer Jones was close enough to observe the drug sale without Williams noticing The officers would have shot Williams if he pointed a gun at them

11 Graham s Probable Cause Affidavit and Search Warrant. Graham prepared and executed the Probable Cause Affidavit that formed the basis for the search warrant In the Affidavit, Graham described the male making the drug sale as 5'8" and medium complexion Williams is 6 1 with dark complexion Graham also claims that he performed a positive Nik Test G on the drugs, which was placed on the property receipts and purportedly submitted to the chemical laboratory for further analysis Noticeably lacking from the trial record is a laboratory report confirming these results 11

12 Troubling Statements Made by Graham Regarding the NFU. Graham worked with Liciardello and others on the NFU Graham stated that Liciardello made arrests where the arrestee was able to prove that he was in a different location and where the search or arrest warrants utilized virtually the same language time and time again Walker worked with Liciardello and others on the NFU as muscle Liciardello and others on the NFU excluded Graham from a money count after an arrest Graham participated in, and Liciardello and the others went to the casino the next day After one large arrest, Liciardello came to work the next day driving a Hummer

13 Troubling Statements Made by Graham Regarding the NFU. Liciardello used sources without recording them on search warrants, and would then leave money and drugs as a tip for the sources after raiding houses Liciardello repeatedly took money from drug dealers, and learned information about dealers from their attorneys in order to make arrests Graham heard Liciardello bragging in a bar that he had a large amount of money stashed away that he would retrieve after the heat died down Graham heard that Liciardello and others on the NFU had threatened to kill Walker, and told Walker they were watching his house

14 14 The Philadelphia District Attorney Agrees that Graham is Not Trustworthy. The District Attorney s Police Misconduct Review Committee has compiled and updated a secret list of police who are forbidden to testify unless top prosecutors give them special permission The roster contains the names of dozens of problematic current and former officers - including Officer Graham, who arrested Williams in January 2007 Graham is on the list for having been investigated by Federal authorities for several alleged acts of corruption, and it is noted that he Retired before his Police Board of Inquiry hearing The Philadelphia District Attorney s office did not notify Williams defense team that Mill s arresting officer had been put on this secret list Officer Graham has also been the subject of at least eight Internal Affairs Complaints, including Williams

15 PCRA Filings. On February 14, 2018, Williams filed a PCRA application and requested bail based upon Gibson and Walker affidavits, information in the FBI Form 302 reports and the existence of the do not testify list To date, at least four other PCRAs have been filed by the Public Defender s Office in cases where Graham was the arresting officer

16 Troubling Probation Statistics. Nation-wide Statistics (2015) One-third of the 4.65 million Americans who were on some form of parole or probation were African-American Total reported entries onto probation: 1,812,310 Total reported exits from probation: 1,004,556 Convicted violators: 65,209 (6.5%) Technical violators: 95,451 (9.5%) Total incarcerated: 49,915 Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Probation and Parole in the United States, 2015 State-wide Statistics (2015) Minorities comprised 58.6% of the total state prison population 47.6% African-American, 10.3% Hispanic Total adults on probation and parole: 254,214 Source: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice Trend Report Series: State Prison Population, 2015

17 Troubling Probation Statistics. Philadelphia Statistics 2014: Total prisoners in Philadelphia County Jail: 8, : Total adults on probation and parole: 44,060 Total Revocations: 7,032 (16%) Convicted violators: 4,782 (10.9%) Technical violators: 2,250 (5.1%) 2016: Of the 3,541 total new admissions to Philadelphia County Prison, 2,540 (71.7%) were African-American Sources: Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice Trend Report Series: County Jail Population, 2014 Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, County Adult Probation and Parole Annual Statistical Report, 2015

18 Williams Current Violations Do Not Justify A 2-To-4 Year Prison Term. Receiving approved rehabilitation services in Atlanta instead of California even though Judge Brinkley was notified by both the probation officer and Mr. Williams management that Mr. Williams was being rehabbed in Atlanta Getting arrested in New York and St. Louis even though those charges were dismissed after investigation Merely requesting permission to travel for work (i.e., performances) even though Mr. Williams did not actually perform unless specifically permitted Not traveling to Greece for a personal trip in August 2017 after Judge Brinkley had permitted him to travel to Greece Note that these violations were not identified by the Probation Officer they were set forth in a letter by Judge Brinkley to allegedly assist both counsel in preparing for the VOP hearing

19 Williams Past Violations Are Non-Violent And Primarily Travel-Related. 12/9/11 Tested positive one time for opiates (unprescribed cold medicine). No further penalty 3/15/13 Traveled to Atlantic City without permission Williams must comply with the Probation Department s travel regulations and take an etiquette class 7/11/14 Scheduled concerts and appearances on dates without permission Used social media improperly Did not have a sufficiently available cell phone or voic for his probation officer Williams was sentenced to three to six months incarceration followed by five years of probation (running until 2019) 12/17/15 Not notifying his probation officer regarding a change in location for a music video Reporting three hours late for a probation appointment Hanging up on his probation officer after he was reprimanded for attempting to report late Submitting water instead of urine when being drug tested Violating restrictions placed on his travel (e.g. not traveling when permitted after professional opportunities changed) Williams was sentenced to six to twelve months county incarceration (permitted to serve as house arrest), plus six years reporting probation to run consecutive to confinement (running until 2023) (sentencing took place on 2/5/2016)

20 Current Status Trial Court. November 6 VOP/Sentencing Hearing November 14 Motion for Recusal filed no decision January 26 Judge Brinkley issues Rule 1925 Order directing Williams to file a statement of errors for appeal by February 16, 2018 April 16 Scheduled hearing date for PCRA November 15 Motion for Modification filed no decision November 16 Motion for Bail filed February 12 Williams filed supplement to Recusal motion based on statements made in the press by Judge Brinkley s attorney Peruto November 28 Superior Court Orders PCCP to respond to bail request without further delay December 1 Judge Brinkley denies bail, citing past drug use, tenuous family connections, use of a dirt bike in 2007 and 2017, and living at multiple places since 2012 Does not address recusal allegations February 14 Williams files Petition for Post- Conviction Relief seeking to have original sentence overturned, and a concurrent Motion for Bail renewing his request for immediate release February 16 Williams files his Rule 1925 statement of errors for appeal NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL

21 Current Status Superior Court. December 6 Notice of Appeal filed December 8 Application for Bail filed December 12 Application for Bail denied (without opinion) DECEMBER 2017