Former Philadelphia Detective James Pitts Charged With Perjury That Led To Man's Wrongful Conviction
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A former Philadelphia homicide detective is facing perjury charges. He is accused of using violent interrogation tactics and lying about it.
Investigators say Detective James Pitts' misconduct led to a wrongful murder conviction of Obina Onyiah.
Onyiah was convicted in the 2010 shooting death of William Glatz, who was the owner of a jewelry store in the Northeast.
Back in May of 2021, Onyiah's murder conviction was vacated. He was exonerated after evidence proved he was too tall to be the shooter. This, after he spent 11 years in jail.
"Onyiah was convicted primarily on the testimony of confession that we now know to be false that he gave to Detective Pitts," Assistant District Attorney Michael Garmisa said.
Onyiah told investigators that Pitts physically pressured him to confess and then lied about it in court. He says his statement was fueled by Pitts' violent interrogation tactics.
Garmisa outlined those claims.
"Punching with a closed fist, poking, or how Mr. Onyiah described it as doinking him in the chest and grabbing him by the neck and forcing his head down between his legs," Garmisa said.
Pitts joined the Philadelphia Police Department in 1996.
The FOP says it will represent Pitts and provide appropriate defense against these allegations.
Onyiah was the 20th person exonerated by the Conviction Integrity Unit since 2018.
"I cannot calculate the enormous damage that was done to a public sense of trust in law enforcement by those kinds of tactics," District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
Perjury is a third-degree felony. Investigations are looking into other incidents on a case-by-case basis.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has suspended Pitts for 30 days with the intent to dismiss at the end of 30 days.
