A Black teenager who was falsely accused of murder despite proof of his innocence is suing the Miami-Dade Police Department and its lead homicide detective, Michael Brajdic, for wrongful arrest.
In 2014, Deandre Charles was accused of murdering Rabbi Joseph Raskin. The evidence used against him was a suspect sketch that looked like the artistic work of a third-grader. The police also claimed his DNA was on the murder weapon as well as the getaway vehicle. It was known, however, that there were multiple suspects.
The probability that the DNA samples found on the gun belonged to Charles was found to be "extremely low." Additionally, Miami-Dade police knew the weapon that killed Raskin had been used in a robbery seven miles from the murder scene the day before the killing, but they failed to tell prosecutors such. Neither a witness nor a confidential informant placed Charles at the scene of the crime.
“During the discovery process, it became clear that other suspects were involved, and ignored by MDPD and the State Attorney’s Office,” said Adam Goodman, one of Charles’ lawyers. “The lack of evidence against Deandre was alarming, and he spent almost a year of his high school life in jail due to this travesty.”
The case was heavily criticized for the abysmal evidence provided and was subsequently dropped in 2016. In 2017, the district attorney dropped the charges. The 18-year-old, however, was the only person ever arrested for the murder.
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