Over the past three years, we’ve discussed the troubling case of Davontae Sanford several times. As you may recall, Davontae was taken into police custody in Detroit at the age of 14 for the murder of four people. We’re told that Davontae, who is developmentally disabled, and blind in one eye, confessed to the murders. Defense attorney Kim McGinnis describes the series of events leading up to his confession like this:
“Davontae saw the police lights after the killings were discovered around the corner from his house, and walked up to the police to find out what was going on. They told him, ‘You know what’s going on,’ and took him downtown. Twenty hours later, he signed a confession which contained only the details that the police already knew at the time.”
Davontae, who read at a third-grade level at the time of his arrest, signed and initialed a typewritten confession given to him by a detective. No video of his questioning, which took place without the presence of his mother or legal council, exists. And, in his signed confession, Davontae claimed that he’d committed the murders with a different weapon than the one which was actually used by the killer. In spite of this, however, Davontae was convicted and sent to prison, where he’s been sentenced to serve from thirty-seven to ninety years. And, that’s not the worst of it. Just months after being sent to prison, an imprisoned hit man by the name of Vincent Smothers confessed to having committed the drug-related killings. Furthermore, he says Davontae had nothing to do with it.
Everyone, it would seem, knows that this young man is innocent, and yet he remains in prison. I’ve been in contact with his mother, Taminko Sanford, over the years, trying as best that I can to point her toward resources, like The Innocence Project, but it seemed, until recently, that nothing was working. While a few articles were written on blogs, like this one, and in the Detroit papers, it didn’t look as though anyone from outside of the region really cared. According to Taminko, though, that’s finally starting to change. Several months ago, in a comment left on this site, she mentioned that Dateline NBC had expressed interest, and just a few weeks ago, she told us about an article that was being written for The New Yorker. Well it looks as though that story is now out. While the article itself is only available online to subscribers of The New Yorker, or those willing to purchase an electronic copy, the author has a blog post about the piece, which can be found here… Here’s a clip.
…Over the course of several hours (with the police), he started talking and telling stories. At first he said that four friends had committed the crime. He was released in the morning, but taken back to the police station at the end of the day. This time, he declared that he had committed the murders himself and drew an accurate sketch of the crime scene. He was then transported to another station, where his second statement was videotaped.
In the videotape, he appears to have no sense of the stakes; he enters the room, smiles, and plays with what may be a one-way mirror until the detective interviewing him, Sergeant Michael Russell, comes in. When asked his constitutional rights, he rattles them off so perfectly that Russell says with a smile, “O.K., almost sounds like you’re reading it.” Then, in the clip shown above, Russell reads the statement, asking him questions. Sanford answers “yes” and “no,” rarely saying more and, once, putting his head in his hands. “I wanted everything to be right, because if it wasn’t right, he wasn’t going to believe me and he would keep me longer,” Sanford later told me. “I really wanted to go home.” After the videotape was played at his trial, six months later, Sanford pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree murder and was later sentenced to thirty-seven to ninety years in prison.
A couple of weeks after his sentencing, however, another man—Smothers—confessed to the same murders. Unlike Sanford’s interrogation, Smothers’s interrogation, as well as his confession, was taped. And in the videotape, as he is being interviewed about a different hit, he confesses to the Runyon (Street) murders, without prompting, recalling details specific to the scene. He names an accomplice, but he never mentions Sanford.
Which confessor was actually there? The hit man, or the fourteen-year-old with no real criminal past who had a reputation for making things up and talking big at school? Within weeks of his arrest, Sanford recanted his confession, saying he’d made up the story and that the police had told him key details about the crime. Smothers has stuck to his story. Ballistics evidence at Runyon Street has also been linked to Smothers and the accomplice Smothers named: a bullet fired at Runyon came from the same gun that Smothers had used in a different hit.
Perhaps Sanford was there with Smothers and his accomplice? That seems unlikely, since a witness saw only two masked figures fleeing the scene, and an investigator for the prosecution could not connect the kid to Smothers or the accomplice. To credit this scenario, you would have to believe that a seasoned hit man like Smothers, who took pride in his meticulousness and discipline, would rely on a half-blind, learning-disabled minor. You also have to believe that that fourteen-year-old, prone to braggadocio, would then exercise impressive discipline by not mentioning that he’d once worked with a hit man—street cred that could come in handy in prison. Sanford was recorded on many occasions without his apparent knowledge, yet the prosecution offered no evidence suggesting that he knew Smothers.
It’s hard to know what the Wayne County prosecutor believes, because her office never offered a coherent theory of the case, at times suggesting that Smothers wasn’t at Runyon and, at other times, that he worked with Sanford. She declined to discuss the case because Sanford is still trying to appeal his plea. Sanford felt hopeful when Smothers first confessed and Michigan’s Court of Appeals ordered proceedings to determine whether he might be innocent. His prospects seemed even brighter when a former homicide cop, who is close to his family, testified that Sanford was with him at the time of the shootings and a key witness testified that the shooters fleeing the crime were taller than Davontae was at the time. But later, the alibi witness was convincingly discredited.
The judge who presided over Sanford’s trial and subsequent “innocence hearing” rejected Sanford’s bid to withdraw his plea, and it is now up to Michigan’s Court of Appeals to decide whether that decision should stand. Even if the court finds in Sanford’s favor, the state has the right to prosecute Sanford again, with Smothers’s confession to the Runyon homicides as part of the record. “Davontae has been railroaded,” Smothers told me, adding later: “The police and the prosecutor can say whatever they want, but they knew he was innocent. They started the coverup from day one.”
And here’s the video which was mentioned above, of the arresting officer reading back the typewritten confession to Davontae.
Let’s hope, finally, this brings about some positive action in the case.
Our thoughts are with you, Davontae and Taminko.
note: For those of you who are so inclined, I understand from my friend Christine Moellering, who is also in contact with Taminko, that Davontae appreciates books and letters. His address is:
Davontae Sanford
MDOC ID: 684070
Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility
1576 West Blue Water Highway
Ionia, MI 48846And the rules for sending packages to inmates in the state of Michigan can be found here.
And, just in case you didn’t find this story heartbreaking enough, here’s a Facebook update from Taminko this summer.
26 Comments
Thank you. As I learn more I will post updates. I’m trying to find out more information but had a busy day with broken down cars.
My mom forwarded the New Yorker article to her former co-workers at the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel. Not sure if there is anything that they can do to help at this point, but the more eyes on this case, the better.
http://www.sado.org/Page/55/Appellate-Defender-Commission-Commission-MAACS
This kind of post is absolutely necessary. Thank you, Mark.
The Judge overseeing his last appeal was Brian Sullivan.
From the Huffington Post:
Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/davontae-sanford-vincent-smothers-hit-man-confession_n_1309760.html
Cops just want to close cases in Detroit, where most murders go unsolved. I don’t know the recent data, but, over the past five years, the closure rate has hovered around 30%, making Detroit one of the easier places in the nation to get away with murder.
I think I might know this boy. Just realized – didn’t read the earlier stories or posts. I need to find out if he attended Burt Elementary.
Does someone know Davontae’s MDOC number?
According to Michigan’s Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), his MDOC number is: 684070
Here’s his page:
http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=684070
Thank you, Mark and Christine–and everyone who’s been working for justice in this case–and thanks, Mr. X, for the MDOC #.
His MDOC number is being added to the post. Thanks.
@ roots yes he did attended burt elementary,and to every body else thank u for your support,god bless you all please keep this family in your prayer,”the davontae sanford story”will be out on dvd’s september 17,2013 directed by flip u can go on my fb pg or flip to watch the previews,thank u,god bless you all
Their are no updates in davontae case as of now,if you would like to write -Davontae Sanford-684070 -Ionia Maxmium Correcetional Fac-1576 W.Blue water Highway-Ionia,Mi 48846,Thank u to all the supporters,god bless you all,will updated on any changes
Taminko, how is Davontae’s spirit holding up?
I talked to him last Wednesday,he spirit is get weary,hes getting tired of fighting and beening their,he feels like he never get out and no body doing nothing,no one care’s,how and why are they doing this too me,i can hear the pain in his voice,and the weakness,but I will countinue to pray and fight for him,god is good Robert,thank u for your support,god bless u
Taminko, please tell Davontae about those of us out here who have not forgotten about him.
I did Robert when I wrote him Monday,i believe it just hard for him because hes locked up and don’t know like I know about his awesome god-sent supporters,that why I be encouraging everyone to write him when they are feel to write to keep his spirits up if nothing else,and thanks again Robert for your awesome support and also a special heart warmed thank u to all my son davontae supporters,god bless u all
Christine Moellering, do you have any updates for us? Have you learned anything interesting about the case?
Hello, everyone: I am intimiately familiar with the legal and factual issues in Davontae’s case and have been in close contact with Taminko and his family, lending moral support for freeing him since the day I learned of the horrific tragedies in his case. This child was set up, plain and simple. DPD, after realizing they duped him into confessing to the crimes he did not commit, have gone to great lengths at every twist and turn to conceal their wrongdoing from the moment he happened on the scene the night of the murders. Davontae, a curious onlooker who walked up to the scene, was taken into custody by a rogue cop who thought his behavior in being inquisitive was criminal. I have a full copy of his videotaped interrogation and it is not a confession. It is the cop narrating the events to him and leadingly telling him what to answer in a yes or no fashion. That is not a confession. Smothers, the professed hitman who committed the murders, on the other hand, confessed with precise details and unrepentently to the crimes and — is willing to take the stand in Davontae’s defense and CONFESS to the murders. Ask yourselves, what does Smother have to gain by confessing in open court to four murders, other than a mandatory life with no parole sentence? The prosecutor is fighting like mad to keep that from happening. If she was so convinced that Davontae’s conviction rests on solid and factual legal grounds, she’d let Smothers testify and impeach his testimony. She refuses for one simple reason: She knows he is innocent and she’d rather he rot in prison for the rest of her life to save herself (and possibly her career) from a political disaster. Call Kym Worthy and remind her to fulfill her duty: to set the innocent free when justice so requires and that is what the FACTS in Davontae’s case requires! God is going to punish Kym Worthy very dearly. Verily so I say that! She is evil; she has no morals.
As an update, we are waiting for oral argument at the Michigan Court of Appeals. The issue on appeal concerns the defense’s motion to withdraw Davontae’s ill-advised plea, on the basis of newly-discovered evidence, that being Vincent Smother’s unadulterated confession to the crimes and his willingness to testify and confess on the witness stand. The issues will be hotly argued on appeal, as you can imagine. We intend to hold a protest after oral argument and shout the assistant prosecutor down outside the courthouse doors in an act of civil disobedience.
muchas gracias, roberto. what kind of help can we offer you, if any?
Maybe get bond money for us perhaps if we’re arrested for civil disobedience (smile). Hopefully it will not come to that, but I am willing to risk it to make an impactful message of the tremendous constitutional violations in the case. An innocence kid was snatched from his mother’s embrace and carried away by a rogue cop and an overzealous prosecutor who give not a damn moment’s worth about innocence, Anon. I am a paralegal with the People’s Task Force to Free the Wrongfully Convicted, a Detroit-based organization working to free wrongfully convicted people like Davontae. He has counsel, however, but the legal and factual issues in his case are extremely important to us as court watchers. What can you do to help? The pressure should be put on the prosecutor’s office. Right now Davontae has capable counsel and there is not much to do until we see what the Michigan Court of Appeals decides. However, the prosecutor, Kym Worthy, has the sole power to stop the appeals and file what is called a ONE PAGE Confession of Error under our local rules. The courts generally grant a prosecutor’s request to nolle prosequi a case when they confess error. Call her and tell her, do the right thing, and confess error. Set Davontae free; for you know he is innocent! She can stop the appeals; let no one say otherwise. Remind her that a prosecutor’s duty is to free the innocent as well as convict the guilty. Remind her too that the victims’ families did not get justice by wrongfully convicting Davontae of those murders and the real killer, Smothers’ accomplice, is still out here able and likely killing again. Where is the justice in that, Anon? We will be holding a protest soon in front of her daughter’s school to be more impactful of our message. Her daughter will be reminded that mommy is an evil woman!
I believe whoever did this is going to pay the hitman or the kid . Life isn’t cheaply rubbed away and people be come more concern with how many people did what my family is devastated for what happen to my family member in that house I think they both had a hand in this and they both should be giving the same mercy they gave them four people in that house NONE!
Does anyone know what Sanford did to be put in solitary confinement?
I googled this because I read an article today that stated that Davontae lost his bid with the Supreme Court to withdraw his guilty plee. I wanted to read more on the case. It’s 2014 and the poor man still sits in prison. This is just truly heartbreaking. I hope things move forward and quickly. What a miscarriage of justice! Shame on the prosecution office for giving their hand to help right this wrong.
Judge Brian Sullivan has signed the order. DAVONTAE is going FREE TODAY!!!
Thank you for support, Mark, and for bringing so much attention to this sickening injustice.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/judge-orders-convicted-detroit-teen-davontae-sanford-to-be-released-from-prison
That is how the wonderful system work in this country of hours. You have cops that pressure people so much that they confess to a crime they did not commit, and once they get that confession, it’s done with. They do not care if the person is innocent or guilty, they just wanted that confession. Which should be against the law. They are cops, and they need to figure it out the right way instead of bullying suspects into confessing to crimes they did not commit. Glad this guy got some justice, but he definitely compensated for the time he spent locked up. I know I would be furious. n
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[…] the way, is convicted hit man Vincent Smothers, who has told authorities on several occasions that he’s the one who actually killed the four people found in the house on Runyon Street. But yet, in spite of the overwhelming evidence, Davontae continues to sit in […]
[…] The footage, which can be seen below, would be disturbing even if I didn’t know the young man being held down by half a dozen officers. But, according to a message I received earlier this evening, I do know the man. Or at least I know of him. He’s someone we’ve been talking about here over the past several years, since he was arrested the age of 14 for the murder of four people in a Detroit drug house. His name is Davontae Sanford. […]
[…] Another good link: http://markmaynard.com/2012/10/davont… […]
[…] are our earlier posts on the Davontae Sanford case: The strange case of Davontae Sanford, Davontae Sanford, in prison for murders he almost certainly didn’t commit, finally gets national e…, Making the front page of Reddit with my post on Davontae Sanford, Disturbing video surfaces of […]