DETROIT – A man who spent 7 1/2 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit is suing the city of Detroit.
Elroy Lucky Jones, 33, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree murder, home invasion, assault with intent to commit murder and illegal use of a firearm. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Now, after exoneration, he is looking for a settlement worth $1.5 million.
Jones was identified as the gunman in the death of 25-year-old Cleo McDougal at an abandoned apartment building at Chalmers Street and 7 Mile Road on June 7, 2006. The killer hung out of a window firing shots with an AK-47.
McDougal’s brother ran from the shooting and later identified Jones as the shooter.
Jones' conviction was reversed in 2008 by the Michigan Court of Appeals because the tapes made by the court reporter of his trial proceedings were stolen from the court reporter’s car. Jones was convicted a second time in 2008.
Detroit police officer Edward Williams made the case against Jones. He also shot and killed his wife Patricia and then shot himself in the head in the parking lot of the Canton Library just months after Jones went to prison.
The violent crimes task force found a man who drove the getaway car that night at the apartment complex in 2011 and turned state’s evidence against another man.
Robert Brown was the real killer, and prosecutors who charged him said he was a leader in the 7 Mile Bloods street gang.
Jones' conviction was vacated in 2013 and a new trial was ordered. The Wayne county Prosecutor's office dismissed the charges on Jan. 23, 2014.
The Detroit City Council took up Jones’ settlement and the case was sent off to a committee which will review it Wednesday morning.