For nearly six years, they were locked up facing a possible death sentence for a grisly 2001 triple homicide in Ypsilanti Township. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the charges against Deondre Byrd and three other men after a federal prosecutor said new evidence came to light last Friday that prevented the government from taking the case to trial. It was the second time in three years that Byrd escaped murder charges. He has been imprisoned in recent years for both the triple homicide and the slaying of a 16-year-old girl in Ann Arbor, but he has been convicted on only a federal gun charge. "Obviously, I'm pretty upset that almost 11 years later, we still don't have any answers," said Christy Brown, 30, a close family friend of the victims of the triple homicide. She said she got a call from federal prosecutors Thursday saying the case was being dropped, but they wouldn't elaborate. "I was very surprised. I honestly thought they were making some...
By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel 4:56 p.m. EST, June 20, 2012 Lorenzo Holmes and Willie Bryant III are persons of interest in the shooting death of DeAnthony Ryles. (Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orange County Sheriff's Office / Jun 20, 2012) Orange County murder detectives are looking for two people of interest in the shooting death of DeAnthony Ryles last month. Detectives identified the persons of interest as 23-year-old Lorenzo Holmes and 22-year-old Willie Bryant III. DeAnthony "D.A." Ryles was gunned down around 2:43 a.m. May 21 near the intersection of Lee Road and Kingswood Drive. Ryles and his friends first encountered another group of men at Firestone Live in downtown Orlando, and then later met at aMcDonald'srestaurant north of downtown. The two groups of men began shooting at each other as they drove along Lee Road. Ryles was injured during the shooting and crashed his car into the Fifth Third bank on Lee Road. ...
A manslaughter charge against a Marathon man accused of helping cause the death of a teenager by letting her drive drunk has been dropped due to what prosecutors say is lack of evidence. Michael Mearns, 26, the son of former Marathon Mayor Randy Mearns and grandson of former Marathon Councilwoman Margie Mearns, had been charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence following a Feb. 25, 2011, crash in which 17-year-old Amber Kogelis of Lower Matecumbe Key died. "You have to prove he knew she was drinking," State Attorney Catherine Vogel said Wednesday. "It's clear we do not have evidence of the impairment." That's even though an autopsy revealed Kogelis had a blood alcohol content of .125. In Florida, .08 is considered legally drunk. "It didn't rise to the level beyond a reasonable doubt," said Assistant State Attorney Paunece Ramage. "She wasn't stumbling, she wasn't holding herself up" in a video prosecutors re...
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