Ex-detective denies coercing, assaulting suspects in 1984
D.C. murder
One of the
detectives who led the investigation into a District woman’s 1984 beating death
denied Tuesday that he assaulted suspects and coerced them into giving false
statements about their and their friends’ involvement.
Former D.C. homicide detective Ruben Serrano Sanchez’s
testimony contradicted that of three men who, in earlier hearings before a D.C.
Superior Court judge, testified that Sanchez threatened them and provided
information for them to repeat in videotaped interviews or in court. One said
that Sanchez shoved his head into a toilet when he refused to cooperate.
Sanchez, now 70, denied the allegations.
“No, sir,” he said. “We were there to obtain information.
We don’t give.”
Catherine Fuller, 48, was beaten to death, her body found
in a garage in her H Street NE neighborhood. Twelve neighborhood friends were
charged in the case.
Two pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange
for testifying against their friends in an 1985 trial. Two were acquitted.
Eight were convicted of first-degree murder. Six of those
men are still behind bars and have petitioned the court to reexamine the case,
arguing that prosecutors withheld evidence from their attorneys and that
confessions taken by detectives at the time were false. Hearings in the
petitions began two weeks ago.
Sanchez did admit Tuesday that he and his partner
interviewed Calvin Alston, one of the men who pleaded guilty, before
videotaping their conversation. Alston testified last week that the detectives
repeatedly told him what to say when the taping began. Sanchez said that was
not true.
Another suspect, who was then 16, said Sanchez pushed his
head into a toilet during interrogations. A third said Sanchez threatened to
send his parents to prison if he did not cooperate. Sanchez also denied those
allegations.
The hearings will determine whether the six incarcerated
men were wrongly convicted and should be freed or get a new trial. Judge
Frederick Weisberg must determine whether he believes the accounts of police
abuse and whether prosecutors wrongfully withheld information from defense
attorneys.
On the stand Tuesday, Sanchez said he played the role of
“bad cop” with his partner during interrogations. Sanchez admitted to raising
his voice to illustrate the seriousness of the case. He also said he would
remove his suit jacket and bang on the interrogation room door as his partner
would urge him to calm down.
Sanchez worked for the District’s police department
between 1971 and 1993. He was known as a tough investigator who worked homicide
and drug cases during the crack epidemic of the mid-1980s.
Eight men, then ages 16 to 21, were convicted of
first-degree murder and sentenced to between 35 years and life in prison in
1985: Kelvin Smith, Steven L. Webb, Levy Rouse, Clifton Yarborough, Timothy
Catlett, Russell Overton and brothers Charles and Christopher Turner.
Christopher Turner was paroled in 2010. Webb died in
prison. The rest remain incarcerated.