So why would they come in there like that? Shooting: Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley testifies during his first trial in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, Michigan, his second trial was declared a mistrial on Friday Judge. Local 4 obtained a video of Weekley in which he worked to help organize a charitable event called SWAT For Tots. The only full justice would be to bring Aiyana back and I can't do that.". The shield seemed unnecessary, Weekley testified. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. and They kept firing.". Weekley drives the SWAT team's armored personnel carrier. All too often we see police officers murder the innocent only to be exonerated by a grand jury or acquitted during a trial. The little girl, 7 years old, died instantly. Jose Guerena, 26, was a Marine Corps veteran who'd served two tours of duty in Iraq. Belinda Robinson for MailOnline He said Tuesday plans to protest the return of Weekley are in the works but not finalized. Besides the glaring presence of toys strewn about the lawn and front porch, it is unlikely that investigators could have missed the presence of four young children and multi-generational family in the opposite unit during their surveillance of the duplex. He has been free on personal bond since his arraignment in 2011. They've criticized the nighttime raid and the possible use of excessive force, particularly the use of a flash-bang grenade. Fishman was referring to the prosecution, not the defense. 20:54 GMT 19 Jun 2013. Sleeping 7-year-old girl shot in head during no-knock police raid on wrong home Weekley was also cleared of wrongdoing in a non-fatal shooting in 2009, when he returned fire from a man aiming at officers, according to The Detroit News. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The city of Detroit has reached an $8.25 million settlement with the family of Stanley-Jones, who was accidentally killed by Weekley during a 2010 raid. Chauncey Owens, whom police were searching for in the raid, was eventually arrested in a second-floor unit of the duplex where the girl and her family lived. Aiyana Stanley-Jones was 7 years old when Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley "accidentally" shot her as she lay sleeping in her grandmother's home. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The prosecution will file an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals, according to the Detroit News. Was she not. Weekley was first tried in Stanley-Jones' death last year; a hung jury caused a mistrial. Mertilla Jones, who. Officer Joseph Weekley was first through the door and after a flash-bang grenade went off, he fired his gun, killing Aiyana. During a raid targeting the apartment on the floor above Stanley-Jones, Officer Joseph Weekley of a SWAT-like team, fired a hand grenade into Stanley-Jones' unit, burning her blanket. Jones insists she never touched Weekley or his gun, and she testified that he put his gun to her granddaughter's head and pulled the trigger, MLive reports. During Weekleys first trial, a fellow officer, Shawn Stallard, testified that he did not see anyone struggle with Weekley. DETROIT The SWAT team member whose gun, authorities say, killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones Sunday during a raid at her home has been identified, and details about his police record have been released. City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. Jennifer Joseph Expand search. A fellow officer is said to have thrown a flash-bang grenade, and Weekley fired his gun shortly after, killing the 7-year-old girl, who was sleeping on the couch. All too often we see police officers murder the innocent only to be exonerated by a grand jury or acquitted during a trial. A flash-bang grenade shattered the front bay window and exploded seconds before the Weekley-led Special Response Team barged though the front door. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Meanwhile, Weekley released a statement shortly before the mistrial was declared. "This was essentially a military assault on a private dwelling," Ron Scott, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, told the Associated Press last year about the raid on the Stanley-Jones home. Weekley says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Prosecutors claim Aiyana's father, Charles Jones, gave Owens the gun he used to kill Je'Rean. A protester holds a sign referencing Aiyana Stanley-Jones at a rally for Trayvon Martin in Detroit on July 14, 2013. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Joseph Weekley and is located at 141 Duesenberg Drive Ste 7b, Westlake Village, CA 91362. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. "He's on vacation now, but when he returns, he'll be in a limited duty capacity," Craig told Hunter. The raid occurred after midnight, and Weekley was first through the door of the Stanley-Jones home on the east side of Detroit, as a film crew shadowing the officers filmed for a reality television show. During the heartbreaking trial, Chris Few, Jeremy's dad, noted that Stafford and officer Norris Greenhouse Jr. immediately started firing with no warning when they stopped him on that fateful night. Nobody alleges that Officer Joseph Weekley intended to kill Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who had been sleeping on a couch near the front door when officers burst through around midnight in search of a murder suspect. All rights reserved (About Us). Greenhouse also happens to be the son of the assistant district attorney in Marksville. In 2013, at Weekley's first trial, his lawyer pointed to Jones' inconsistent accounts of the shooting and otherwise attacked her credibility, according to MLive. Spokeswoman Maria Miller said the prosecutors office still believes it has a strong case, which is why it decided to put Weekley on trial again. Armed with an MP5 submachine gun and behind a shield, Weekley had been tasked with being first into the home in search of murder suspect, Chauncey Owens. Loud voices could be heard in the jury room in Wayne County, Michigan a few hours before jurors threw in the towel in the case of Joseph Weekley on Tuesday and were dismissed. Greenhouse, whose defense team has been pulling insane tactics out of the woodwork up to and including demanding to know if any prosecution witnesses underwent hypnosis or any "truth-determining examinations," such as polygraph tests or sodium pentothal. "I seen the light leave out of her eyes.". The prosecution and defense have offered contradictory depictions of the events leading up to Stanley-Jones' death. Recent protests and conversations among activists have linked Aiyana's death to the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last month. He insists he accidentally fired his gun during a. She was in her pajamas. That's wrong to me.'. In February, Owens was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The settlement still needs approval from the Detroit City Council. Joseph Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. Weekley had not been on the force since 2010 when he shot a sleeping child in the head during a botched raid executed on the wrong home. I've got something for you." The raid was recorded for a police reality TV show, The First 48, but there was no footage from inside the house. Time spent in the car between cases or office meetings. When asked by prosecutors if knowing children were in the house would have forced police to change raid tactics, Davis responded: 'Probably not.'. Police disputed the Westbrooks' version of events, according to the Free Press, but the case was settled late in 2010, some time after Aiyana's death. The Michigan Supreme Court last Septembercleared the way for a trial or settlementwhen it declined to hear an appeal after two courts ruled a jury could decide whether Weekley's actions amounted to gross negligence. He has been a member of the SWAT team for six years, and on the Detroit police force for 14 years. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. (CBS/AP) DETROIT - Joseph Weekley, a Detroit police officer charged in the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, testified Thursday that he still feels "devastated and depressed". Weekely could still face a third re-trial. The night of the raid, a camera crew from A&E's "The First 48," a reality show that follows police officers during the first two days of murder investigations, was shadowing Detroit's Special Response Team. However, the Clerk of Court, the District Attorneys Office, Marksville Police Department, and City Court noted that they did not have any warrants against him. Fishman attempted to discredit her while requesting dismissal of the manslaughter charge. Aiyana was sleeping on one end of the couch, and her grandmother Mertilla Jones was on the other in May 2010 when an armed, black-clad and masked police officers stormed the apartment. The target, Chauncey Owens, was eventually arrested and convicted of killing a 17-year-old boy. I understand there is a certain part of the public that is crying foul on this. "There is absolutely no evidence, none, that's in the least bit credible, that Officer Weekley knowingly created a danger or, more importantly, intended to cause injury," Fishman said in court Friday. Critics of police militarization have pointed to Aiyana's death when looking at ramifications of the increased use of SWAT teams among local law enforcement. We do not practice law. Rep. John Conyers has also asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the girl's shooting death. Local 4 News every morning. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. A surveillance unit had been monitoring the duplex in which he lived throughout the day and a no-knock raid was scheduled for just after midnight. "I would only pray that [the prosecutor] would only use the same zeal he used on my client, Charles Jones, in trying to get a conviction in [Weekley's] case," Weiss told HuffPost this week. (Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press via AP, File) Yahoo News Yahoo News . On the third day of deliberations, loud voices could be heard coming from the jury room. Copyright 2023 Information includes the borrower, lender, address or legal description of the property . Weiss is seeking a new trial for Jones, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 40 to 60 years. The hunt for a murder suspect was being recorded by a crew from 'The First 48,' a police show on A&E Networks. The raid commenced at roughly 12:40 a.m. (Dkt. Daily Mail Reporter, 2010 raid was being filmed for reality TV show 'The First 48 Hours', Body found shot dead near home of New England Patriots tight end identified as another football player in semi-professional league, Parents beware: Children could be playing a Simpsons game that has 'hidden anti-gun messages' and 'mocks NRA', Would you want to live next door to this man? Weekley says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Sadly, for Jeremy Mardis, who will never see another Christmas or Birthday or throw the ball with his dad, the reason for the stop that night is irrelevant. "The whole reason there was even a chase was for his well-being," he said. It was the first time any family member had stood in front of Weekley and directly accused him. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. This website expresses our OPINIONS. Weekley is also charged with careless discharge of a weapon causing death, a misdemeanor that might not carry a jail sentence if he is convicted, according to the Detroit News. Officer Joseph Weekley had been charged in the death of Aiyana Stanley Jones. The jury foreman, a pastor said:This has not been an easy case.. It should be of no surprise then, when we learn of SWAT raids not just for low-level drug crimes, but also for zoning violations or underage drinking, or that there are now police departments in America that serve every felony search warrant with a SWAT team, regardless of the crime. ', 'I don't think it's fair because he's a police officer that he gets to get away with this again. Howard received a sentence of two years' probation. Killing of Aiyana Jones. "He won't be in the field.". Nov. 15Trust deeds This list includes trust deeds (to secure repayment of a loan) of $750,000 or more. The Wayne County prosecutor's office said in a statement that on Friday Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge, granting a motion submitted by Weekley's attorney, Steve Fishman. Last year the city settled with Aiyana's family for $8.25 million. Jones told a different story at Weekley's trial last year. According to the Detroit Free Press, Weekley said during his 2013 trial that he'd executed 300 search warrants during his time on the Special Response Team, and had been the first man through the door in about 100 of those. The company's filing status is listed as Suspended - Ftb and its File Number is 2555616. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Police, being filmed by A&E's "The First 48," were looking for Chauncey Owens, who has since been convicted of killing 17-year-old Je'Rean Blake outside a nearby party store. She said she'd initially been asleep on the couch with Aiyana, but that she was on the floor when Weekley shot his weapon, not close enough to touch the gun. But prosecutors charged him with involuntary manslaughter because they believe he handled his submachine gun recklessly, causing the girls death. He would have been charged with second-degree murder.". He said he was oblivious to the fact that the bullet was fired from his gun and suspected it was fired by Ellis' gun, whom he pursued into an adjacent bedroom. He told The Huffington Post that he questioned the motives of officials who "zealously" went after the father of a girl shot by a cop, describing the prosecution's case as extremely thin. The jury composed of nine men and four women was seated Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court and is expected to hear opening statements Monday morning in the trial of Joseph Weekley. The girl's father, Charles Jones, was convicted of second-degree murder for providing the gun used to kill Blake. He went in there to protect the citizens of Detroit from a man wanted for murder, Diaz said. Edward Carmack Email, Phone Number, Company, Colleagues, Competitors, Peers, Interests, Skills, Seniority The event raised funds for kids with cancer. Feast day: Mar 19 Nathan Weekley is the brother of Joseph Weekley, a former SWAT officer for the Detroit police force, who was reassigned after fatally shooting 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a May. 'They knew there were children in there. The jurors, asked that their names not be made public as they explained what happened over four days of deliberations. The. Jones had previously said the shot came from outside the house. In at least one of those other raids, Weekley and his team were accused of using unnecessary force. A judge has dropped the felony charge leveled against Joseph Weekley, the Detroit police officer who in 2010 shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to death. DETROIT, MI -- It's been five years since Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley led a SWAT team in search of a murder suspect and fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Weekley testified the grandmother struck his weapon and caused him. 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