Detroit hit man says he, not teen, responsible for 4 deaths

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/04/15/hitman-claims-credit-murders/25815511/

By Jim Schaefer, Detroit Free Press 6:17 p.m. EDT April 15, 2015
An imprisoned hit man once again is trying to clear another man convicted in a 2007 quadruple murder in Detroit.

Vincent Smothers says it's simple: Davontae Sanford couldn't have shot and killed those people because Smothers did. Lawyers for Sanford filed a motion today in Wayne County Circuit Court that asks for a new trial.

Sanford, who was 14 at the time of the murders, pleaded guilty in the middle of his 2008 trial, following admissions to the police. But new lawyers for Sanford say he falsely confessed, and had shoddy legal representation when he accepted the deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder.

Sanford, now 22, is serving 37-90 years in the Ionia Correctional Facility.

Smothers gave a detailed affidavit last month claiming credit for the killings. In the sworn document, Smothers says he and another man shot and killed Mike Robinson, the man Smothers says he was hired to kill, and three bystanders in Robinson's drug house on the northeast side.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough that Davontae Sanford was not involved in the September 17, 2007, murders at 19741 Runyon Street in any way," Smothers says in the affidavit, signed in prison where he is serving time for eight other admitted killings. "I had never met, spoken with, or even heard of Davontae Sanford or anyone connected to him. Davontae Sanford is being wrongly incarcerated for a crime that I know he did not commit."

This is not the first time Smothers has tried to clear Sanford. When he was arrested in 2008, Smothers confessed to a dozen killings, included those on Runyon. But Sanford had been convicted shortly before Smothers' arrest. Smothers was charged in every killing except the ones tied to Sanford. Smothers pleaded guilty to all charges and is serving 50 to 100 years in prison.

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Moran said Sanford's statements to the police were inconsistent. Smothers, on the other hand, provided police with accurate details, and guns used in the Runyon Street killings were tied to him. In addition, Smothers implicated an accomplice, who later shot and wounded another man, Moran said.

Smothers' motivation to clear Sanford comes partly from a desire for redemption and partly from professional pride, Moran said.

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That anyone would falsely confess to a heinous crime can be hard to believe. But cases around the country have proved this phenomenon happens, particularly with young people and those who are intellectually impaired.

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