EASTPOINTE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man who spent more than seven years in prison for a Macomb County robbery he didn't commit is now suing police for $50 million.
Mack Howell's civil lawsuit names Matthew Hambright, who was the Eastpointe Police Department's officer-in-charge on the case.
Howell was sentenced to 25–50 years in prison after he was convicted of robbing an Eastpointe 7-Eleven store on April 3, 2014. He was released from prison this March after evidence proved his innocence.
"When you think about how much that is, measure that against the amount of harm and it balances," said attorney Wolfgang Mueller.
Mueller alleges that the investigator withheld information about the case, resulting in Howell's errant conviction.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit looked at the case and asked for Howell to be released after seeing new evidence that wasn't known at the time and was not available during his trial.
According to Prosecutor Pete Lucido's office, the robber was wearing all black, including a black cap on his head and a mask concealing his face with only his eyes visible. He was described as being 6 feet tall and having a medium build. The 7-Eleven clerk was the only witness.
Surveillance video from the 7-Eleven robbery
A police K-9 was used to track the robber, who ran from the scene. However, the dog wasn't given anything touched by the suspect to track and the K-9 started its track outside the store. According to the prosecutor's office, the dog hit on a paper bag with a beer can inside. The robber was not seen on security cameras or in person with a paper bag or beer can, before, during, or after the robbery.
However, the beer can was processed for fingerprints and DNA. A quality fingerprint on the can did not belong to Howell, but the beer can had Howell’s DNA on it and the DNA of an unknown person.
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Howell was the only person identified through DNA and became the main suspect.
Mueller alleges that Hambright contacted the store clerk and asked her if she was sure about the description of the suspect after the DNA matched Howell.
A photo identification process occurred several months after the robbery, and a combination of the DNA and identification process resulted in Howell being charged and convicted. Mueller said the clerk first picked someone who wasn't Howell out of a lineup.
After the initial crime, five other armed robberies of nearby 7-Eleven stores in Macomb County occurred. A 7-Eleven store on Ten Mile in Warren was robbed on July 16, 2014, August 10, 2014, and August 15, 2014. A 7-11 store on Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores was robbed on July 25, 2014. On August 20, 2014, the same store that Howell was convicted of robbing, was robbed again.
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Hambright was also involved in those cases, Mueller said. The attorney alleges that the investigator did not share information about the serial robberies with the prosecutor.
Howell's innocence was proven by a few pieces of evidence. First, he had a severe medical issue and walked with a cane, meaning he wouldn't have been able to commit the crime and run from the scene. Second, his appearance at the time did not match that of the robber – Howell was shorter and heavier. Third, the K-9 track was questionable since the track began outside in an area contaminated by many people.
The prosecutor's office said none of that evidence was heard by the jury that convicted Howell.