Investigators failed to act on a tip from an informant who
implicated a Delaware man in the slaying of a minister's son, and Tahmir Craig
ended up in jail for a crime he did not commit, Craig's attorney said today.
Had they followed up, said attorney Joseph S. Oxman, "I
don't think Tahmir Craig would have been a suspect."
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan took issue
with Oxman's comment, saying the tip had been checked.
Craig, who spent 10 months in jail, was released last month
after prosecutors acknowleged he had been charged mistakenly in the Memorial
Day slaying of Devon Williams.
On Tuesday, Craig, 23, filed a federal civil rights suit
against the two investigators, their supervisors, the county, and the City of
Chester for false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and other
civil rights violations.
"The case was thoroughly investigated," said Jack
Whelan, the county district attorney.
According to the suit, the day before he was shot and
killed, Devon Williams, 27, of Chester, was seen chasing a rival drug dealer -
identified only as "Diddy" - with a gun. Williams did not shoot the
dealer because he knew the surveillance cameras at a nearby convience store
would have captured the crime. "Diddy" allegedly retaliated by having
an accomplice from Delaware kill Williams.
Whelan said the information about the Delaware man was
investigated. "We looked at that individual, and he is not the
shooter," said Whelan. The man known as "Diddy" has since died,
he added.
Tahmir Craig did not attend the news conference.
"He is emotionally wrecked after this," said
Oxman. The family is in the process of moving from Chester to insure Tahmir
Craig's safety.
On the day of the murder, Craig was at home playing on his
computer, talking on his cell phone and visiting with a neighbor when Williams
was gunned down in the 2100 block of Edgmont Avenue shortly after 1 p.m.,
according to Craig's attorney.
At the time, witnesses said Craig was the shooter based on
surveillance photos from a nearby business.
A neighbor who had been with Craig at the time of the
slaying, provided defense attorneys with an alibi statement for Craig. The
neighbor was killed in a June 30 hit-and-run crash.
An FBI forensic analysis of photos indicated that Craig was
not involved in the crime. Last month, District Attorney Jack Whelan apologized
to Craig and ordered him released from jail.