MILWAUKEE — A Washington state man is suing the city of Milwaukee after spending 9 months in jail on a murder charge that was dismissed days before trial. Two former Milwaukee detectives are at the center of the federal civil lawsuit.
Larnell Washington is suing over allegations of malicious prosecution centered around fabricated evidence. His attorney, Kenneth Flaxman, represents him in the lawsuit.
"It's a life-changing event to be accused of murder," Flaxman said.
Washington says the arrest cost him nearly everything.
"I'm starting from the bottom, man," Washington said. “I didn't even know these people had me on their radar. It bamboozled me," Washington said.
The case traces back to July 1990, when Annette Love was raped and murdered near Fourth and Keefe in Milwaukee. Washington described Love as a friend from the neighborhood.
The case went cold for more than a decade. In the meantime, Washington went to prison for being a party to a crime in a separate shooting — something he says he accepts.
"I accept that, and I own that," Washington said.
Court records show that in 2009, advances at the state's crime lab allowed for new DNA testing of Love's fingernail clippings, which identified Washington as a possible contributor. Washington says any DNA connection has an innocent explanation.
"We passing a joint or whatever, so you got to touch thumb to thumb, finger to finger, and all this stuff, so that's the only thing that I can think of that the DNA got there, if it was there," Washington said.
Forensic testing also found DNA evidence of a serial rapist who was already in prison serving a 400-year sentence.
Court records show detectives Gilbert Hernandez and Katherine Spano still believed Washington was involved and interviewed his ex-girlfriend, Willie Jean Hampton. According to a police report, Hampton told officers Washington "suddenly came running into their apartment and she could immediately see that he had a lot of blood on his shirt."
The report also states she saw him with a "black, semiautomatic gun" in his waistband and that he kept saying "she got shot."
In 2011, court records show Spano and Hernandez traveled to Washington state to interview Washington.
"They ask me if I know Ms. Love. I said, yes, I know her very well. She's like a sister to us," Washington said.
"They asked for a swab; I gave them a swab because I don't got nothing to hide," Washington said.
Thirty-three years after Love's murder, Washington was arrested, extradited to Milwaukee and charged with first-degree reckless homicide. After 9 months inside the Milwaukee County Jail, the case was dismissed, and Washington was set free days before his trial began. Prosecutors said key witnesses either denied their previous statements or had a different recollection.
"There were serious problems with proceeding against Mr. Washington without the witnesses who just said that those reports aren't true," Flaxman said.
Hampton testified in the civil case about what she told detectives.
"Did you ever tell the detectives that on the night Lilly was killed, you saw Larnell Washington with a bloody shirt?" Hampton was asked.
"No, that's not correct," Hampton said. "He asked me, 'Did he have blood on him?' I told him, "No. Blood from where?" That was the truth."
Hampton also provided an alibi for Washington, claiming he was with her the entire night of the murder inside their apartment. She said she was prepared to testify on his behalf despite not having seen him in decades.
"I was willing to do that because I can't see an innocent man go to prison for something he did not do," Hampton said.
Both detectives testified as part of the civil case. Hernandez's deposition was recorded on video. When asked whether he recalled interviewing Hampton at the Milwaukee County Courthouse in October 2010, Hernandez said he did not.
"I have no personal recollection, sir," Hernandez said.
A review of the deposition transcript shows Hernandez responded to 80 questions by saying he does not remember — including whether he recalled interviewing Washington in Washington state in August 2011, a case police records show he investigated for years. When asked whether anyone had diagnosed him with memory problems, Hernandez said no.
Detective Spano's testimony was not videotaped, but a transcript shows she said under oath that "there would be no reason for me to document reports that are not truthful."
"She had explanations for throwing away her notes for the evidence, and everyone was lying except her," Flaxman said.
Neither Spano nor Hernandez responded to interview requests.
The civil lawsuit alleges the detectives fabricated statements from Hampton, Love's daughter, and Washington himself — leading to the case being dismissed.
Similar allegations were outlined in William Avery's civil lawsuit against the city for a wrongful 1998 homicide conviction. Court records describe Hernandez's handwritten report as a "fabricated confession" Avery denied all along. When asked in his deposition whether he recalled the jury finding he had fabricated evidence, Hernandez acknowledged the finding.
"That's what they say," Hernandez said.
Flaxman and Washington say their concerns have grown after learning about a recently vacated homicide conviction in Racine County, in which the defendant's former attorneys failed to call Spano and Hernandez's credibility into question in front of a jury.
"It's a shame, and I put the D in front of it; it's a D shame," Washington said.
Washington believes he deserves compensation for the setbacks he has faced. He also wants Spano and Hernandez added to the Brady List — a database of current and former officers with credibility concerns. Officers on that list must be disclosed to defense attorneys if they are involved in a criminal trial.
"I think they belong on the first page. Why I say first page, because I'm not the only African American guy that they tried to stick it to," Washington said.
The city attorney declined an interview request but wrote in a legal filing in response to the lawsuit that the city denied that Washington was wrongfully prosecuted and imprisoned. The judge will next decide whether the civil case can proceed to trial.
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