Howard McKnight was accused of robbing a couple at gun point. During the crime the perpetrator pointed a gun at the husband and said I’m going to rape your wife in front of you.
Mr. McKnight had a jury trial and was found guilty and sentenced to decades behind bars.
In December 2019, Professional Investigator Steve Crane of ACS Professional Investigations took on McKnight’s case pro-bono.
Crane obtained an affidavit from Jerry Golson, who was a witness to the brutal rape and robbery that occurred on 12/31/2012. Golson stated that the unidentified male who committed this crime was a black male in his mid-30s to early 40s. McKnight was 22 years old at the time.
Golson stated that he recognized the man he saw committing the crime as someone he had seen in the neighborhood. He also stated that he attended a police lineup, however the perpetrator he witnessed committing the crime was not present and the line-up consisted of suspects that were too young, and therefore Golson did not ID anyone. Golson also stated that he believes that McKnight is innocent.
Crane also interviewed and obtained an affidavit from Johnesha Fleming, who was McKnight’s girlfriend at the time. Ms. Fleming said she and McKnight were at her mother’s house until 9:00 PM on December 31, 2012, at which time her sister drove them back to their house in Redford, as neither she nor McKnight had a vehicle. They stayed inside the house for the rest of that day and the next day, which was New Year’s Day.
On January 10, 2013, McKnight was arrested while him and Ms. Fleming were shopping at a local grocery store; the only question the police asked her was if McKnight owned a gun, and she said no. The police never asked her if McKnight was with her the night this crime took place, and she was never called to the stand as McKnight’s alibi.
Ms. Fleming said an ex-girlfriend of McKnight’s was the person who contacted Crime Stoppers and told them that McKnight was the person who committed this crime. She stated the ex-girlfriend did this to get back at McKnight and for the money. Crane contacted Crime Stoppers, and they told him that the information from the caller was very detailed and about three pages long, which is very unusual in comparison to most of the calls they receive.
Crane contacted the ex-girlfriend, and asked her if she was the one who called Crime Stoppers, she replied, "How does everyone know I was the one to call Crime Stoppers?" Crane has tried to call her back, but she will not accept his
calls.
Crane has talked with the victims on two occasions. Both the husband and the wife were very cooperative, but the wife stated that she did not want to have to hire an attorney and go back to court. One of their sons was present during the first visit and told his parents that this kid (meaning Howard McKnight) could be innocent, but his parents didn't want any part of it.
The husband did say that the drawing the police drew up looked nothing like the person who robbed them and raped his wife. He also stated that during the lineup, Officer Ortiz told them that the suspect was in custody and was part of the lineup. Mr. Stone stated that he picked McKnight out of the lineup because he was looking down and would not make eye contact; and his wife picked McKnight out of the lineup based on his “body type”.
Private Investigator Crane was curious to see if Officer Ortiz had a history of coaching victims to pick out the “correct” person in a lineup, and found a case where the victim stated when she got to the precinct they immediately took her to the back and officer Ortiz asked her if she would be able to pick anybody out? and she told him she didn't think so. Officer Ortiz reportedly stated, "Well, we got the right guy, so don't worry about that. We have his DNA, and if you get confused it’s number five."
Crane turned his investigation over to the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit and The Cooley Law School. The Cooley Law School arranged for Y-STR DNA testing in McKnight’s case. The results of the testing were inconclusive because McKnight was not included in the sample, but also could not be excluded from the sample. Cooley Law School stated the reason McKnight could not be excluded is because thousands of individuals share common alleles and it is likely that McKnight shared some common alleles with the perpetrator.
On January 5, 2021 the Director of the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit closed their investigation on McKnight because there was nothing new to support his innocence claim.
On April 15, 2021 Staff Attorney David Williams stated in an email to McKnight that he was surprised that the prosecution even used the DNA results at trial because there were so many markers in the sample and there were only a few markers that included you in the sample.
On March 14, 2022 Crane received documents from McKnight that McKnight received from the the Cooley Innocence Project, and there were documents McKnight had never seen before.
This new evidence included a Homicide Scene Investigation Report about Terence Banks who was a 42 year old black male who approached Robert Martin and Ms. Theresa Carter as they were walking home in a neighborhood nearby the same neighborhood the crime McKnight was convicted for took place in; Terrance Banks produced a BSA firearm and demanded their belongings. Banks then forced Martin and Carter back to their residence at gunpoint. Banks said he was going to rape Ms. Carter. Upon arriving, Martin got his .22 rifle and fired numerous shots at Banks. When the police found Banks he had numerous gunshot wounds and was deceased.
Furthermore, Crane talked to McKnight’s trial attorney to determine if he was aware of any other suspects. He stated he knew McKnight’s case well and he always believed McKnight was innocent but was never informed of any other suspects and if he would have had this information, he was confident he could have changed the outcome in McKnight’s trial.
In conclusion, alternate suspect Terence Banks fit the age and description that witness Jerry Golson provided the police. Banks looked exactly like the police composite drawing and was said to be carrying a BSA firearm, the same type of gun that the victims in McKnight’s conviction said was used on them. In both cases, the robber stated that he was going to rape the victim’s wife in front of her husband. The age of the victims in both Banks and McKnight’s case were all in their 50’s, and the two crimes happened in less than five blocks of each other and 24 hours apart.
Respectfully,
Howard McKnight #687302
Macomb Correctional Facility
34625 - 26 Mile Rd.
Lenox Township, MI 48048
3-17-22
All herein declared accurate and truthful under federal law 28 USC 1746.