15 years old Illinois the boy says he was picked up by police for a shooting he did not commit, bribed with McDonald’s food and promised a speedy release to make a false confession, and then held in jail for two days.
Martel Williams and his lawyer told reporters Monday that the Waukegan teenager was released only after his sister took a photo proving he had an iron alibi at the time of the shooting because he played in a basketball game 20 miles away. crime scene.
‘I was scared. I just wanted to go home, “Williams said of his ordeal last week CBS Chicago.
Williams, surrounded by his family and lawyer Kevin O’Connor, said he was in a class at Waukegan High School on February 16, where he was a freshman, when police arrived and took him away.
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Martel Williams, 15, says he was bribed with McDonald’s food and a promise of a speedy release to make a false confession to the February 4 shooting.
Williams was released only after his sister took this time-stamped photo proving that the boy was involved in a 20-mile basketball game during the shooting.
The teenager said police did not tell him why they were arresting him, leaving him “confused.”
“He was dragged into the police station by a detective who doesn’t even do basic detective work to see where he was during the day,” O’Connor said.
The lawyer added that there was no lawyer or attorney to speak on behalf of the minor, and Williams was not allowed to call his mother.
For several hours, Williams said detectives asked him to confess to the crime without telling him what the crime was.
Williams said he did not know at the time that he had been charged with attempted murder in connection with the February 4 shooting of 19-year-old Elvis Ramos, an employee of the Dollar General store.
Elvis Ramos, a 19-year-old Dollar General store employee, was shot in the face while trying to stop a man from stealing goods. He has undergone numerous surgeries since February 4
Police released images of the gunman and later claimed that many people had identified Williams as the masked man in the photos.
Ramos was shot in the face while trying to stop a man from stealing goods from the store. According to the GoFundMe campaign description, he has undergone many operations that are still pending.
After the shooting, police released a video showing the masked suspect at the crime scene.
Williams said that after his arrest, a detective told him that many people had shown up and identified him as a suspect.
The teenager and his lawyer said it was then alleged that detectives tried to bribe him with food for a home at McDonald’s.
The teenager did not eat the food, but said he eventually broke down and confessed after saying police promised to release him within 10 minutes.
“They didn’t even tell him a shooting was involved,” O’Connor said ABC 7 Chicago. “They just said, ‘Hey, it wasn’t your fault. Just tell us you’re defending yourself. Just tell us you were there and we’ll let you go home.
But instead of releasing Williams, police accused him of attempted murder and aggravated violence and placed him in juvenile custody.
After two days in jail, Williams’ sister went to police with a time-stamped photo showing her brother playing basketball for his high school in Lincolnshire, Illinois, some 20 miles from the Dollar General store.
Presented with an indisputable alibi, police released Williams, and Lake County Attorney Eric Reinhart dropped the charges against him and deleted his file, they said. The Washington Post.
Kevin O’Connor, Williams’ lawyer (left), apologizes to police and Waukegan High School staff
But the boy’s lawyer says that’s not enough. O’Connor says he wants the school and the police department to be held accountable and insists that an apology be made to Williams in a public forum to clear his name.
O’Connor did not rule out the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the police department.
The local police department did not comment on the allegations, but the city of Waukegan said it was reviewing the case.
As of Thursday, the real shooter of Ramos has not been arrested.