Lawyer In Hamtramck Murder Case Says Cops Have Wrong Guy
DETROIT (Talk Radio 1270) As the prosecutor in the case of five men accused of kidnapping and murdering two Hamtramck women said witnesses could be in danger, the defense claims they've got at least one of the wrong men in custody.
Arnold Reid, the lawyer representing Brian Lee who allegedly shot at Abreeya Brown, 18, and Ashley Conaway, 22, before their kidnapping and murder in Hamtramck, says there's no credible evidence his client was involved. Five defendants are accused of abducting and murdering the women to keep the friends from testifying against two of them in an attempted murder case stemming from the original shooting.
Reid claims men who were involved are still walking the streets.
Reid told Charlie Langton during an appearance on his Talk Radio 1270 morning show that Lee was never named by the victims as the shooter, though he's charged.
"My client is alleged to to be the shooter," Reid said. "However, the young ladies actually named the shooter in their statements, they described him as 5'7", my client is 6'2", he's a skinny boy. My client was not involved in the initial shooting...There's absolutely no evidence.
"I've been through 3,000 documents, there is no fingerprints, no DNA, there's nothing that I consider to be credible evidence."
Reid claims prosecutors charged Lee because they "believe he knows more than he does," so they charged him to squeeze him for information.
"Brian Lee was not involved in this," Reid said. "There were a number of people who should have been arrested, who were not. My humble opinion is the shooter is walking around."
The incident began February 8 when the women were out allegedly partying, bar hopping and drinking with an estimated 10-15 guys, some of whom were later charged in their deaths. At some point, Reid there were "some words exchanged with someone threatening Ashley that if you drove away, we'll shoot."
Conaway called her friend to come and get her, and at some point in the fracas one of the men allegedly opened fire to keep them from leaving. They reported the crime, disappeared on February 28, and later turned up in a shared shallow grave. They were both bound and had been shot in the head.
"My clients was nowhere around," Reid said. "My client lives in Pontiac."
The judge postponed a hearing that was set for Thursday when defense attorneys said they needed more time to prepare for the case. Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Molly Kettler was upset about the delay.
"All of our civilian witnesses are here, despite the fact that some of them have received threats, both on the phone and in person," Kettler said, according to WWJ950. "And I'm asking the court, once again, to admonish people who may be involved that they should not have contact with witnesses in the case."
The judge postponed the preliminary hearing for one week, acknowledging that there are 20 DVDs the lawyers must review and at least 1,00o pages of discovery.
The five defendants — 26-year-old Brandon Cain, 24-year-old Miguel Rodriguez, 24-year-old Reginald Brown, 19-year-old Jeremy Brown and 25-year-old Brian Lee — are each charged with two counts of premeditated first degree murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of torture and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.
Cain and Reginald Brown are also charged with one count each of felony firearm. Cain is additionally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted as charged, the five men face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
