A Philadelphia man who received a $4.1 million settlement from city officials after spending 24 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit is going back to prison.
Shaurn Thomas, now 50, pleaded guilty in court Thursday to the Jan. 3, 2023, murder of 38-year-old Akeem Edwards over a $1,200 drug debt. reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He was previously convicted of second-degree murder for the November 1990 shooting of a Puerto Rican businessman and was sentenced to life in prison.
But Thomas had long maintained his innocence and said he was incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility at the time of 78-year-old Domingo Martinez’s death. according to the Innocence Projectcausing him to be released in 2017.
Lawyers for the organization found that detectives knew Thomas had a possible alibi, and even had 36 pages of secret witness statements pointing to other suspects, but focused on Thomas because of statements from two alleged co-conspirators.
However, those co-conspirators’ stories changed over time, and one of them even recanted his testimony, claiming that police fed him a false story and assaulted him until he repeated it.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to retry the case, despite prosecutors saying they were not entirely convinced Thomas was innocent.
Thomas was subsequently released from prison and said at the time that he had “no animosity” toward police and planned to “just move on.” according to ABC news.
Shaurn Thomas, now 50, won a $4.15 million settlement in 2020 for his wrongful conviction of a 1990 murder
Thomas was released from prison in 2017 with help from the Innocence Project
Three years later, Thomas settled a lawsuit against the city for $4.15 million.
He had also joined a network of other Philadelphians who were released from prison after their convictions were overturned.
There he met Ketra Veasy, whose brother, Willie, overturned his murder case in 2019.
The two dated for six years, and last fall Thomas asked her to put him in touch with her childhood friend Akeem Edwards to see if he could sell him some cocaine, prosecutors had said.
The ex-con then gave Edwards a sandwich bag filled with drugs and told him to bring back $1,200 from the proceeds, which Edwards never paid on January 3, 2023.
That day, Thomas and Veasy met at her home in Delaware and drove to Philadelphia to run some errands.
But before they returned home, she said, Thomas suggested they drive around the neighborhood to see if they could find Edwards.
When they finally saw him, Veasy said, Thomas got out of the car.
She later testified that she did not know Thomas had a gun with him that day and that she never meant to harm Edwards.
He told ABC News he had “no animosity” toward police and planned to “just move on.”
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to retry the case, despite prosecutors saying they were not entirely convinced Thomas was innocent
But soon she heard gunshots and saw Thomas running back to the car and putting the gun in his waistband.
He told her, ‘He’s been hit, he’s down, just drive,'” Veasy recounted, saying she did just that.
On the way back to Delaware, Veasy said her boyfriend made a shocking confession.
“He said it was his third murder and he couldn’t go back to prison,” Veasy testified.
She further alleged that Thomas told her he knew where her children and her family lived and that he should “keep my mouth shut or else.”
But a few weeks later, a federal informant told homicide detectives that Thomas had discussed Edwards’ murder with him and said Veasy was with him.
The informant also claimed that Thomas attacked Veasy out of fear that she would cooperate with investigators, the Inquirer reported.
That led to a search of Thomas’ home, where police found five guns and a Gap hoodie similar to the one Edwards’ shooter was wearing.
Thomas was subsequently arrested and charged with illegal possession of a weapon, but was released on bail.
After his release, he had an on-and-off relationship with Ketra Veasy (center), whose brother, Willie, overturned his murder case in 2019.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia police continued their investigation and received cell phone records that placed Veasy and Thomas on the scene.
They were both arrested in March and charged with murder.
While behind bars, Thomas sent Veasy letters that she said were intimidating, and she eventually agreed to cooperate with police and testify against Thomas in exchange for less serious charges.
Veasy pleaded guilty last year to aggravated assault and conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
Thomas, for his part, denied any of the claims in court Thursday and pleaded guilty to six crimes, including third-degree murder, conspiracy and illegal possession of a weapon.
He will be sentenced in February.