Exonerated man suing Eastpointe police officer who conducted investigation
EASTPOINTE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A man who served years in prison for a robbery he didn't commit is suing an Eastpointe police officer whose investigation helped put him behind bars.
Mack Howell's attorney, Wolfgang Mueller, alleges an Eastpointe police officer's shoddy investigation sent an innocent Howell, 62, to prison for a crime he didn't commit.
"When you cheat to win, and you're wearing a badge, you need to be held accountable," said Mueller.
Howell's case centers around an April 2014 armed robbery at a 7-Eleven in Eastpointe.
Mueller says it was the beginning of a series of missteps by Officer Matthew Hambright that included withholding evidence that could've proved Howell's innocence.
"Hambright chose not to disclose evidence of a serial robber that the defense was entitled to. The prosecutor testified and will testify that she never got a hold of it," Mueller said.
Mueller also says Officer Hambright never told the store clerk who identified Howell as the suspect about the serial robber.
Howell's attorney believes the clerk, who picked Howell out of a lineup, would've changed her mind after she already had doubts that she had the right guy.
"Originally, she selected somebody who was not Mack Howell. The facts of the robbery was the guy had a mask on, and she could only see his eyes. When she picked out the wrong guy, Hambright asked her again, 'Are you sure about that'? She said, 'I'm not really sure.' Then she picked another person. That person was Mack Howell," Mueller said.
Howell was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison before the Conviction Integrity Unit of Macomb County Prosecutor's office overturned the conviction.
The 62-year-old, who was 53 at the time, spent nearly eight years behind bars.
"It was real hard," said Howell.
Howell spoke briefly about his time in prison, which included witnessing murders.
He says he's still traumatized about what happened and continues to question why he was targeted.
"I want to know why they accused me…and kept telling me 16 times: 'You did it. You did it. You did it."
Eastpointe Police Department's Interim Chief of Police Corey Haines says he has yet to see the complaint but says an investigation will be launched into Howell's case.
"We take these things seriously," he said. "We will have our attorneys looking into this and making sure everything is handled appropriately."
