A 15-year-old Illinois boy says he was picked up by the police for a shooting he did not commit, bribed with a McDonald’s meal and a promise of a speedy release into making a false confession, and then kept in lockup for two days.
Martell Williams and his attorney told reporters on Monday that the Waukegan teen was only let go after his sister produced a photo proving that he had an ironclad alibi for the time of shooting because he was taking part in a basketball game 20 miles away from the crime scene.
‘I was scared. I just wanted to go home,’ Williams said of his harrowing ordeal last week, reported CBS Chicago.
Williams, flanked by his family and his attorney Kevin O’Conner, said that on February 16, he was sitting in class at Waukegan High School, where he is a freshman, when police arrived and took him away.
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Martell Williams, 15, says he was bribed with a McDonald’s meal and a promise of a speedy release to make a false confession to a shooting that took place on February 4
Williams was let go only after his sister produced this time-stamped photo, proving that the boy was taking part in a basketball game 20 miles away at the time of the shooting
The teen said the officers did not tell him why they were arresting him, leaving him ‘confused.’
‘He’s dragged to the police station by a detective who doesn’t even do basic detective work to see where he was on the day,’ O’Connor said.
The attorney added that there was no advocate or attorney to speak on the minor’s behalf, and Williams was not allowed to call his mother.
Over the course of several hours, Williams said detectives asked him to confess to a crime, without telling him what that crime was.
Williams said he did not know at the time that he was being accused of an attempted murder in connection with the February 4 shooting of 19-year-old Elvis Ramos, a clerk at a Dollar General store.
Elvis Ramos, 19, a clerk at a Dollar General store, was shot in the face while trying to stop a man from stealing merchandise. He has undergone multiple surgeries since February 4
Police released surveillance images of the gunman, and they later claimed that multiple people had identified Williams as the masked man in these photos
Ramos was shot in the face while trying to stop a man from shoplifting merchandise. According to the description of a GoFundMe campaign, he has undergone multiple surgeries, with more to come.
In the wake of the shooting, police released surveillance video showing the masked suspect at the scene of the crime.
Williams said that after his arrest, a detective told him that multiple people have come forward and identified him as the suspect.
The teen and his attorney said that detectives then allegedly tried to bribe him with a McDonald’s takeout.
The teen did not eat the food, but he said he ultimately broke down and made a confession after he said police promised to release him within 10 minutes.
‘They didn’t even tell him a shooting was involved,’ O’Connor said, according to ABC 7 Chicago. ‘They just said, “Hey, it wasn’t your fault. Just tell us you were defending yourself. Just go ahead and tell us you were there and we will let you go home.”‘
But instead of releasing Williams, police charged him with attempted murder and aggravated battery, and placed him in juvenile detention.
After two days in lockup, Williams’ sister went to the police with a time-stamped photograph, showing that at the time of the commission of the shooting her brother was playing basketball for his high school at an away game in Lincolnshire, Illinois, some 20 miles away from the Dollar General store.
Presented with the incontrovertible alibi, police released Williams, and Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart dropped the charges against him and expunged his record, reported The Washington Post.
Kevin O’Conner, Williams’ attorney (left), demanded an apology from the police and Waukegan High School officials
But the boy’s attorney says it is not enough. O’Conner says he wants the school and the police department held accountable, and he demands that an apology be offered to Williams in a public forum to clear his name.
O’Conner has not ruled out the possibility of filing a civil lawsuit against the police department.
The local police department has not commented on the allegations, but the City of Waukegan said it was reviewing the case.
As of Thursday, Ramos’ real shooter has not been arrested.
