DETROIT – A Detroit man who had a conviction for a rape he didn't commit dropped Thursday was back in court Friday, this time for an alleged assault of a woman in late December.
Kevin Lackey is accused of physically assaulting his 46-year-old girlfriend while armed with a handgun Dec. 22.
He allegedly punched the victim in the face. Prosecutors said Lackey then put a gun to his head and the victim's head and threatened to kill them both.
READ: Cases against Detroit men who spent years in prison for crimes they didn't commit to be dismissed
Lackey was charged with felonious assault, felon in possession of a handgun, two counts of felony firearm and domestic violence. His bond was set at $20,000, 10 percent.
Lackey spent 22 years in prison after he was convicted in the rape of an 11-year-old girl. He was released in 2014, but his name was tarnished. While in prison for the wrongful conviction, Lackey was convicted of a behind-bars assault.
"The irony there is because he was serving a sentence that he shouldn't have been serving, he has that felony," said Todd Perkins, Lackey's attorney. "This is a family man who's got grandchildren, who has been a lifelong resident city of Detroit, but for the 22 years of his life that has been caput."
The rape conviction was dropped because, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Lackey was identified by "profoundly invalid dog tracking evidence that was crucial to his convictions."
Here is background on the rape case, according to the prosecutor's office:
On July 5, 1992, an 11-year-old girl was carried her from her bed and sexually assaulted on the back porch of the house. After the attacker left the house, the girl woke her mother and the police were called. The police called in a canine tracker and a K-9 unit who tracked the evidence at the scene to Mr. Lackey's home across the alley from the child's home. The child was not able to identify her attacker. Mr. Lackey was known to the victim for years as a family friend who had been to her home many times; however, the victim was unable to identify him in a line up, or to identify him by voice.
On January 26, 1993, Mr. Lackey was convicted by a jury, as charged, of two counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct Involving Person Under 13 Years of Age; Second Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct; and Breaking and Entering an Occupied Dwelling With Intent to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct. On February 26, 1993, he was sentenced to 15 to 25 years on each count, to be served consecutively. He was re-sentenced on March 9, 1993 on the Second Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and Breaking and Entering an Occupied Dwelling With Intent to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct to 10 to 15 years imprisonment, all sentences to be served concurrently.
It is clear that the identification of Mr. Lackey as the suspect was based upon profoundly invalid dog tracking evidence that was crucial to his convictions. For this reason, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will move to have his convictions vacated. Given that the perpetrator of the sexual assault has not been identified, and the primary evidence against Mr. Lackey has been discredited, Mr. Lackey will not be retried.