Innocent man freed after four years in prison

A witness and a confession landed 18-year-old Christopher Lindsey behind bars charged with murder and facing life in prison. But four years later, another man's DNA apparently has set him free.

Christopher Lindsey, 23, of Waggaman, was released in September after spending four years in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, accused of committing a murder in Harvey when he was 18. The charge was dismissed on the eve of his trial last month. "I'm still angry, " Lindsey of Waggaman said recently, weeks after he left jail. "Four years out of my life for something I didn't do. I could have went to college and everything."

On the eve of his Sept. 21 trial, the Jefferson Parish district attorney's office dismissed a second-degree murder charge against Lindsey, 23, after he spent four years and two months in jail. He and Cedric Lewis, 28, of Harvey were accused of killing Trellas Porter, 23, a marijuana dealer on July 3, 2005, inside the Harvey home of Porter's grandmother.

Porter's girlfriend, Karra Crayton, told police she was waiting outside for Porter to drive her to her New Orleans home when two men approached. One pointed a gun to her head, told her she would die and forced her into the house, according to police reports.

During the scuffle that followed inside, Porter's 81-year-old grandmother, Dorothy Eugene, scratched one of the intruders. Porter was forced into a bedroom, where he was shot. Detectives later found nearly 800 grams of marijuana in his closet, according to police reports.

The case detective, then-Sgt. Don Meunier, ordered a crime scene technician to gather evidence, including material from Eugene's fingernails in search of DNA that could identify a killer.

Early in the investigation, Lindsey and Lewis emerged as suspects through rumors detectives heard on the streets, according to police reports. With that information, detectives included Lindsey's picture in a photographic line-up of five men and showed the array to Crayton. She identified Lindsey on July 14, 2005, and he was arrested two days later.

"I said, "Homicide?' " Lindsey recalled. During booking into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, officers found two rocks of crack cocaine in his underwear. He was booked with cocaine possession and introducing contraband into the jail, records show.

By midnight, Meunier and Detective Roger Gorumba were questioning Lindsey, records show. He waived his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney, speaking to the detectives for the next five hours.

The first taped statement began at 1:43 a.m., with Lindsey acknowledging he knew Porter about three years. "He's the weed man, you know, you go buy the weed. I smoke all day, " Lindsey told the detectives.

He denied involvement in the homicide but said he was on Estalote Street until about 3 p.m., when his mother drove him home, according to the statement. But his mother contradicted the claim, saying she didn't pick up Lindsey until after Porter's murder, Meunier wrote.

After a nap, Lindsey admitted in a second taped statement he hadn't been truthful, " 'cause I was scared for my life."

He told detectives "Sedric" killed Porter, although he went to Porter's house with Lewis to buy marijuana, according to a transcript of the statement. Unaware Lewis was armed, Lindsey said he ran out when he heard gunshots.

While Lindsey confirmed what the detectives suspected, that Lewis was involved, both men were indicted with second-degree murder in November 2005.

Confession was false, Lindsey says

But Lindsey now calls his admission a false confession, fabricated when the detectives' tape recorder was not running -- what detectives call a "pre-interview." He claims the detectives told him what to say and said they would let him go if he talked. They told him they found his DNA at the murder scene, he said.

Such police interrogation tactics are legal, attorneys say.

"I was so confused, I thought I done it, " Lindsey said of the all-night interrogation. "I was up so long." ....

"If the DNA didn't come back, I'd probably be doing life, ya heard me?" Lindsey said. "The DNA saved me."

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