A man acquitted of murdering a 15-year-old girl is suing the Baltimore City Police Department for $10.6 million, claiming a homicide detective falsely charged him with the crime despite knowing his DNA did not match samples taken from the victim.
“He lied in his paperwork,” attorney James Rhodes said of Irvin Bradley, the homicide detective assigned to the case.
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“He told a number of lies, but the biggest was that my client Terry Jones’ DNA had been matched to the crime in the state’s database. Jones had never been convicted of a crime, so his DNA couldn’t have been in the database.”
Police charged suspected serial rapist William V. Brown, 41, in the March 8, 2004, slaying of the 15-year-old, Antiona Mills, after receiving a DNA match this year. Brown also is charged in two other attacks.
Homicide investigators claim the girl made plans to meet Jones, 26, the night of her death.
Bradley allegedly told Jones police knew the young man hadn’t caused harm to the victim, but he was under pressure to solve the crime, according to the lawsuit.
Bradley told Jones he would have no choice but to charge Jones, but “did not care since he was going to retire soon anyway,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges Bradley then falsified information about DNA evidence to implicate Jones, while demanding Jones provide information about the “real” killer.
Throughout the ordeal, Jones maintained his innocence and denied any knowledge of the killing.
The lawsuit also alleges Bradley “intentionally misled” Jones into providing an improper handwriting sample by asking him to copy over a letter left by the real killer, a violation of standard procedures for handwriting analysis.
A city jury acquitted Jones of all charges in 2006.
“Mr. Jones spent an entire year in jail,” Rhodes said. “His father died just two months after he was released. He still suffers from the stigma attached to having been charged with a murder and a rape.”
After filing the lawsuit, Rhodes said Jones, who is now facing drug distribution charges, was recently the victim of a gunshot wound to the hand. When Jones was taken to the homicide unit this past weekend to be interviewed, he said Bradley threatened him because of the lawsuit.
“He told him he would get him,” Rhodes said. “He told him he could do anything to him at any point in time.”
City police spokesman Sterling Clifford said he could not comment on the suit. Bradley was unavailable for comment.
A trial date has not been set.
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