When contacted Friday, Mosby told The Associated Press the case \u201chas always been about the pursuit of justice for Kevin Jones and his family.\u201d She declined to comment further.<\/p>\n
Jones\u2019 grandmother, Earlene Neals, said she felt blindsided and heartbroken by the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family is destroyed,\u201d she told AP by phone. \u201cKevin is getting no justice whatsoever \u2014 none.\u201d<\/p>\n
She accused Bates of using the case for political gain, saying she\u2019s skeptical police will ever identify another suspect now that Davis is free.<\/p>\n
Davis was the first person shot by Baltimore police after\u00a0the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man severely injured in police custody<\/a>\u00a0whose case triggered protests and civil unrest in Maryland\u2019s largest city amid calls for police reform.<\/p>\n A recent confluence of factors helped Davis regain his freedom after seven years behind bars, including growing support from activists and Bates\u2019 2022 election. Then a defense attorney, Bates beat Mosby in the Democratic primary, which assured him election in November in the heavily Democratic city.<\/p>\n Davis requested privacy Friday and made no public appearance, though he was photographed smiling widely from inside a vehicle after his release. He celebrated with supporters, including his wife, Kelly Davis, who led a yearslong grassroots movement seeking to clear his name.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope people realize, we have watched a wrongful conviction in real time \u2014 and we did not look away,\u201d she told The Associated Press. \u201cKeith survived the bullets because that was not the end of his story. It was meant to be so much bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n She called the case \u201can indictment of the entire system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeith is not an anomaly,\u201d Kelly Davis added, saying many other defendants with credible innocence claims remain behind bars. He\u2019s home now, she said, but \u201cwe cannot get these years back that were stolen from us.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorneys with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which represented Keith Davis throughout, said Friday\u2019s decision helps restore confidence in Baltimore\u2019s justice system.<\/p>\n Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue said Mosby\u2019s handling of the case ran \u201ccounter to any concept of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis, 31, faced his\u00a0fourth murder trial<\/a>\u00a0in 2019, when the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder \u2014 an outcome that was later overturned on appeal in 2021. Two previous trials ended in mistrials. A third trial led to a second-degree murder conviction that was also overturned.<\/p>\n At the time of his release Friday, Davis was awaiting a potential fifth trial.<\/p>\n In 2021, after his latest conviction was overturned, prosecutors filed additional charges against Davis, accusing him of attempted murder in a stabbing nearly a year earlier while he was behind bars. When those charges were filed, a Baltimore judge found a \u201cpresumption of vindictiveness\u201d behind the prosecution. The same judge also held Mosby in contempt of court after finding she willfully\u00a0violated a gag order<\/a>\u00a0by commenting about the high-profile case on Instagram.<\/p>\n The attempted murder case also was dismissed Friday.<\/p>\n Jones was shot on June 7, 2015, at the Pimlico track in northeast Baltimore.<\/p>\n Hours after the shooting, a Baltimore police officer was flagged down by an unlicensed cab driver in a nearby neighborhood who said someone tried to rob him at gunpoint. Police identified Davis as the suspect, chased him through the streets and cornered him in a mechanic\u2019s garage. Police then fired at least 33 rounds at Davis, striking him three times, including once in the face.<\/p>\n <p”>Authorities said Davis had placed a gun on top of the refrigerator he was hiding behind inside the garage. But Davis said the weapon was planted on him after the police shooting.<\/p>\n Davis initially went to trial in 2016 for armed robbery. The jury found him not guilty of all charges except illegal possession of a handgun. About a week later, prosecutors charged him with murder in the Pimlico shooting, citing ballistics testing.<\/p>\n In his announcement Friday, Bates stopped short of declaring Davis innocent. Because he made comments about the case on the campaign trail, Bates said, he requested one of his deputies conduct the formal review.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear that a blatant disregard for the rules of professional responsibility and the law has permeated throughout the attempted prosecutions of Mr. Davis,\u201d Deputy State\u2019s Attorney Thomas Donnelly said in a statement.<\/p>\n Baltimore activist DeRay Mckesson, who celebrated with Kelly Davis and others Friday, said he became hopeful after Bates won the primary election, but \u201cit\u2019s not real until it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n He said many of Davis\u2019 supporters were excited to finally meet him in person.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is a reminder that when you organize, you win,\u201d he told AP. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy, but we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Associated](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Associated-Press-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a> apnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"