I was arrested on 9.30.09 on 4 felony charges including robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, grand larceny, & conspiracy to commit grand larceny in the city of Virginia Beach, VA. I had no adult record previously. I was denied bond. I remained incarcerated pending trial. I went to a preliminary hearing on 12.04.09 & my case was certified to circuit court due to the fact that the victim/witness (Kiara Lewis) who was 12-13 yrs at the time identified me by my voice & eyes. My trial date was originally set for February of 2010 which was continued until March 31 for the prosecution to get their evidence together. My attorney Gregory B. Turpin advised me to take a jury trial because he felt like the Commonwealth had very little evidence against me. I was only 18 yrs of age & knew absolutely nothing about the law, I just did what I was instructed to do. I've always maintained my innocence till this day. I was accused of taking part in a staged burglary in order to obtain an assault rifle (Ak-47) from Kiya Windley's residence. (Kiara Lewis & Kiya Windley are siblings) Supposedly Kiya's mother Tonya Rodgers had an Ak-47 inside of her bedroom & Kiya staged a burglary to make seem like it was taken by intruders. I had 2 codefendants on this case, Kiya Windley 16 yoa & Codefendant B (hidden due to legal reasons) 17 yoa. This incident took place on 9.26.09 past 11 pm. 911 was called at 12:13 am on 9.27.09.. 9.26 is my sister's Tierra birthday in which I was in Newport News with her, my mother, & my brother celebrating her 18th birthday at a restaurant called (Cheddar's). I had an alibi. The timeline didn't add up for me to be involved in this crime. We left from my residence in Virginia Beach between 7:30-8 pm. From my house in Virginia Beach to Cheddars in Newport News is a 30-mile drive. We were seated at 9:29 pm. On the receipt, it shows that our ticket was closed out at 11:13 pm. We sat around the table & talked for a bit while waiting on our to-go boxes. We got home closer to midnight give or take. Even if we had left exactly at 11:13 pm at the earliest & it took us 30mins to drive 30 miles back to Virginia Beach it would have been 11:43 pm when we got back to the city, so I would have to get in the house go to my room immediately change my clothes excuse myself from the house w/o anyone noticing & met up with these other people already set in place a few blocks away to move forward with this burglary. According to Kiara Lewis, the robbery lasted approximately 15mins, she also stayed when the perpetrators left her & Kiya went straight to the mother's room to check it out to see what was missing. She stated that took 7-8 mins. Instead of calling 911 for help, she called her mother first & they spent approximately 5-6 mins on the phone & then Kiya finally called the police. The mother Tonya Rodgers spoke with Kiara on the phone past 11 pm to check to see if Kiya had made it home. She worked the night shift in Hampton for the military "company called Langley". According to all the facts the robbery had to begin no later than 11:30 pm. The detectives felt that
Kiya staged the entire scene & brought a lot of time to ensure his accomplices got away safely. For one, there was a home security device installed at the residence & it was armed so it wasn't a break-in so that raised red flags. Nothing tied me to the case besides Kiya mentioning my name in the police report which if he set this up why would he give up the real perpetrators he had come in & help him carry out his plan. Also, I sold some jewelry the next day 9.27.09 to a business called cash for gold located inside of military circle mall located in Norfolk, Va that was taken in the burglary. Codefendant B asked me if I could do him a favor which required me using my I.D. to sell the jewelry for him & collect the cash because there was a requirement that a person must be 18 yrs or better to conduct business through the company & he was only 17 yoa & I accepted. I had no idea where the jewelry came from, nor did I know what took place the night before, I just did what I thought was a simple favor. When I was arrested there was a search warrant issued to search my home for red pants with a Dickie logo, a red shirt, a red hooded sweatshirt/jacket, a red bandanna, a red brim hat with NY symbol on it, desktop Inspiron computer. Also, female jewelry to include gold citizens watch, diamond tennis bracelet, two gold necklaces with Kiya & Kiara charms on each, silver & black Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun & a Verizon cell phone # 757.375.1733. Those were the items supposedly taken from the home, also that's what was reported that the gunman was wearing the night of the incident. Va Beach detectives recovered nothing from my home. There was no DNA evidence linking me to the crime, no fingerprints, no footprints, no cell phone records linking me to anything from the phone supposedly taken. The entire case against me was circumstantial (Hearsay) Kiya & Kiara had 2 completely different versions of events that took place the night of 9.26.09. According to Kiara, I was 1 of 3 perpetrators but she claims I'm the one in all red from head to toe with the gun barking all the orders, that's how she claims she was able to identify me by my voice & the shape of my eyes. She stated she couldn't identify the other 2 persons involved. Kiya identified me as the one being inside the room. The prosecution felt that she was a better witness for the case than he was beings as though he was actually charged with the crime so they coached/prepped her over the months leading up to my trial date to convict me. Part of Kiya's plea agreement was that he testify against me at my trial but he was never called to do so because it would contradict his sister's testimony & she was their lead witness. From the first day, a neighbor of theirs (Kayshun Flynn) 20 yrs old was brought in for questioning because he was a suspect & he was offered immunity for his cooperation. He was harassed by the detectives& the Commonwealth attorney's office to cooperate but he didn't want to & that's how my very first trial date got continued. I have an affidavit from him stating how he was pressured by them to testify against me at my trial & how they coached him. A few months after my trial my brother was in contact with Kiara on Facebook & he asked her "why did you lie on my brother & get him all that time" & her response was "honestly I didn't know who was involved, why didn't you tell me this before trial, I would have never said that." He informed her that I had an appeal going on & she told him whatever she could do to help me out she would do just let him know. I took the information to my attorney at the time & he told me there was nothing he could do unless we obtained an affidavit from her. When I attempted I found out she couldn't do anything w/o her mother's consent due to the fact she was a minor but Ms. Rodgers wanted nothing to do with it any longer. Ms. Rodgers even went as far as contacting the Commonwealth attorney's office & reporting to them my family was harassing her so after that I had no choice but to wait until Kiara turned 18 which was yrs down the line & when that time came I had no way of contacting her. We were granted funds from the courts for a private investigator pending trial but the P.I. was never put to use at all. If he had interviewed my codefendants & or any witnesses that very well could have changed the outcome of the verdict that was passed down by the jury. There wasn't a proper investigation done on my behalf.
As far as the inconsistencies, Kiara Lewis changed several details throughout the course of the entire process. From the first night when she was interviewed by law enforcement it was reported I had on red pants, at my preliminary hearing she stated I had on black pants & at trial she said I had on blue jeans. She stated that I had a red bandanna folded triangle style above the bridge of my nose with a hat with a brim pulled down concealing my eyes with a hoody pulled over the top of the hat but at trial in front of a jury she explained that the bandanna was underneath my nose making it seem like more of the face was exposed to her. She reported that the hat had a NY symbol on it but later on at trial said it had no symbol. Also, she said she could see what the guy was carrying when he came running out of the room, late on she admitted she really didn't see anything. In fact, she later learned what was taken. All of this came out during cross-examination. After each question, my attorney Gregory Turpin would approach the stand & let her read what she previously reported & testified to from transcripts & question her about why now she's switching things around. The point he was making was how much do you actually know or if she's trying to remember what someone else told her to say because why were there so many inconsistencies. In a child's mind under all that pressure things could start to run altogether, some of what she really remembers, what she thinks happened, & what other people told her happened. She stated she was in shock while this whole ordeal was taking place & all she could focus on was the gun which was a contradiction because if she was really in a state of shock how she explained how could she have argued making smart remarks to the gunman such as "we don't have any guns in here unlike you" & refusing to hand over he phone. Clearly, that's not the behavior o a person in shock. Another contradiction, she said all she could focus on was the gun the entire time which raised questions because if that was true how could she explain in so much detail other things that were going on for example how she claimed to notice my voice & the exact shape of my eyes along with everything else she testified to.
My attorney dismissed any of the strategies I came up with that could potentially persuade the jury of my innocence for example putting different pictures of sets of eyes on the projector & having her point my eyes out beings as though she knows them so well, also playing different recordings of voices & having her identify mines rather saying can you point out DeAndre Gordon here in the courtroom because that's how she claims she identified me beings that the perpetrator identity was fully concealed. It was nothing for her to point me out inside of the courtroom, she knows who I am besides I'm the only person in the courtroom wearing a jumper & a trial dress clothes sitting next to my attorney at the front table. There was no evidence whatsoever to place me on the scene. I was railroaded. I have a lot of evidence proving my innocence, the strongest being a written confession from the actual perpetrator which is signed & notarized.
On 7.23.20 I received a letter from (Colin D. Stolle) office of the Commonwealth attorney city of VA Beach informing me that someone came forward confessing to the crime for which I was convicted & sentenced for. Also, I received a copy of the confession. In the letter, it described that the confession was newly discovered evidence & I should take whatever action I deem appropriate. 8.05.20 I hired Dale Jensen to file a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence. To go along with that I have an affidavit from Kayshun Flynn (a suspect) turned state witness who was later dismissed as a hostile witness when he didn't do what the Commonwealth prosecutor wanted him to do describing how the commonwealth granted him immunity in exchange for his cooperation & how they pressured him into cooperating. Also, I have an affidavit from my codefendant Kwanel petty stating his version of the incident & letting it be known that I had absolutely nothing to do with what actually took place at 1930 Darnell Dr. on 9.26.09 & how he got me to use my I.D. card in exchange for stolen goods the next day in which I had no knowledge of at the time. I've been wrongfully convicted & would like to seek justice whether it be relief from the writ of actual innocence filed on my behalf, a court order to vacate the conviction & sentence, or the governor granting me a pardon of some sort or clemency. I proclaim my innocence! I've been away from my son & the rest of my family & society going on 12 yrs now. I need as many signatures as possible to push for action on my behalf. I'm now 30 yrs old, been incarcerated since 18. Since then I've obtained my G.E.D., completed many programs,& maintained institutional employment too. I'm currently attending a Drug program that I got started at Red Onion State Prison & I'm steady trying to reach my full potential. If I was released from prison today I have a place to live, & employment. I'd be a productive member of society. Let's make moves to Free Dre!