Anthony Potts recalled the night 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones was killed during a police raid. ID 321.) Stafford was facing a maximum sentence of 60 years for his role in the murder of Jeremy Mardis whenstate District Judge William Bennett sentenced him. Weiss is seeking a new trial for Jones, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 40 to 60 years. Last week, she was escorted from the courtroom after an emotional outburst directed at Weekley during her testimony. by a Detroit police officer, Joseph Weekley. Copyright 2023 Police1. A stun grenade was thrown through a window to confuse anyone inside. Weekley, a member of an elite police squad, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Aiyana, who was shot in the head in May 2010 while sleeping on her grandmother's couch. During a late night police raid to apprehend a murder suspect, Defendant Officer Joseph Weekley somehow discharged his firearm, fatally wounding seven-year-old Aiyana Jones. But the shot killed Aiyana. Owens was suspected of having killed a teenager a few days earlier, a charge for which he would eventually be convicted. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. A member of an elite Detroit police team failed to follow his training when he stormed a house looking for a murder suspect with his finger on the trigger and shot a 7-year-old girl who was asleep on the couch, a prosecutor said Thursday at the start of an involuntary manslaughter trial. Who Is DPD Officer Joseph Weekley? "I pulled the trigger of that gun, unintentionally, and I didn't even know it at the time," Weekley said in cout. (CBS/AP) DETROIT - Joseph Weekley, a Detroit police officer charged in the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, testified Thursday that he still feels "devastated and depressed". Officer Joseph Weekley will return to court Nov. 21, and Wayne County prosecutors now have six weeks to see whether they will seek to have Weekley tried for a third time. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Weekley's new trial comes amid national conversations about police brutality and institutional racism -- conversations sparked by the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri last month. Last year the city settled with Aiyana's family for $8.25 million. Ellis was unarmed. "He won't be in the field.". It was about 9:30 AM. Officer Placed At Desk Job DETROIT - The SWAT team member whose gun, authorities say, killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones Sunday during a raid at her home has been. 17:14 GMT 11 Oct 2014 Download the Yahoo News app. (Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press via AP, File), Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. It was Owens they were after. Detroit Police Chief James Craig told George Hunter of the Detroit News last week that Weekley was restored to active duty April 2. After he was shot, Few lost consciousness and didn't know his son died until he woke up in a hospital six days later the day of Jeremy's funeral. Nobody alleges that Officer Joseph Weekley intended to kill Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who had been sleeping on a couch near the front door when officers burst through around midnight in search of a murder suspect. The special response team that arrived at the Stanley-Jones home two nights later was looking for Owens, who was involved with Aiyana's aunt and lived in the flat on the second story. As he was trained, Weekley testified his finger was outside the trigger guard when he entered the home carrying a large ballistics shield that he dropped almost immediately after entering the home. Yahoo News Yahoo News . It's the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for law enforcement agencies and police departments worldwide. Weekley says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Joseph Weekley shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones in 2010 Officer charged with involuntary manslaughter Dominika Stanley, left, the mother of Aiyana Jones, seven, sits next to Aiyana's father Charles . Part of HuffPost Crime. "I'm out here to fight any way for the other Aiyanas that's to come," she said, "because it ain't stop at just my grandbaby.". Recent protests and conversations among activists have linked Aiyana's death to the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last month. He said Detroit police are trained to push away anyone who tries to grab an officers gun or to move the weapon in a J shape to keep control of it. The girl's father, Charles Jones, was convicted of second-degree murder for providing the gun used to kill Blake. Mark Diaz, union president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, said he was disappointed by the decision. Ron Scott, founder of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, has represented Aiyana's family since the shooting. Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, insists he accidentally pulled the trigger when Aiyana's grandmother grabbed his gun as officers burst through the door of her home. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Marksville, LA Moments ago, in one of the stiffest sentences ever handed down to a cop for killing an innocent person while on duty, one of the Marksville police officers who killed 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis was sentenced to 40 years in prison. HuffPost reporter Radley Balko wrote last year that reality shows profiling police actions support a growing "police-industrial-entertainment complex": Over the last decade or so, the cable dial has been stuffed full of programming that serves to make us more comfortable with police units that treat neighborhoods like battlefields. "The only evidence that points to any kind of knowingly creating a danger or intending to cause injury, the only testimony is that of Mertilla Jones, which is by its nature and by comparison to the other testimony, including the medical examiner, is completely and totally unbelievable," Fishman told the judge on Friday. Check out footage (below) of the judge's ruling Friday: CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that attorney Steve Fishman said the defense would need to demonstrate Officer Joseph Weekley acted in a "grossly negligent manner" in the circumstances leading to Stanley-Jones' death. They said that theynever agreed unanimously, but listened to each others view points, took three votes and had some jurors shift sides. "I would only pray that [the prosecutor] would only use the same zeal he used on my client, Charles Jones, in trying to get a conviction in [Weekley's] case," Weiss told HuffPost this week. The city of Detroit has reached an $8.25 million settlement with the family of Stanley-Jones, who was accidentally killed by Weekley during a 2010 raid. The prosecution will file an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals, according to the Detroit News. interacts online and researches product purchases Joseph Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. The law is a gray area at best. Nathan Weekley is the brother of Joseph Weekley, a former SWAT officer for the Detroit police force, who was reassigned after fatally shooting 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a May. She said she'd initially been asleep on the couch with Aiyana, but that she was on the floor when Weekley shot his weapon, not close enough to touch the gun. After prosecutors objected, the judge suspended her decision and ordered a recess until late morning. During the heartbreaking trial, Chris Few, Jeremy's dad, noted that Stafford and officer Norris Greenhouse Jr. immediately started firing with no warning when they stopped him on that fateful night. The city of Detroit has reached an $8.25 million settlement with the family of Stanley-Jones, who was accidentally killed by Weekley during a 2010 raid. I've got something for you." Owens pleaded guilty in April 2011 to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Blake's slaying. Aiyana MoNay Stanley-Jones July 20 2002 May 16 2010 was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroits East Side who was shot in the neck and We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. and manufacturers. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office alleged that Weekley's negligence led to Aiyana's death. The jurors, asked that their names not be made public as they explained what happened over four days of deliberations. However, for his family, the outcome of Greenhouse's future trial and the fact that Stafford just got 40 years, are the only things that can provide even a semblance of comfort. Hathaway then granted the prosecution's request for a stay on her decision and adjourned court until Monday. That's wrong to me.'. They kept firing.". He has been a member of the SWAT team for six years, and on the Detroit police force for 14 years. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. The company's filing status is listed as Suspended - Ftb and its File Number is 2555616. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Jones was convicted of second-degree murder in Je'Rean's death, though he was found not guilty of first-degree murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm or using a firearm during a felony. Weekley claims his MP5 sub-machine gun fired when Aiyana's grandmother, Mertila Jones, slammed his gun with her hand. The jury sent a note to Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway saying little progress had been made during the three days of deliberations over the fate of Officer Joseph Weekley, who faced charges of felony . Godbee said Weekley is involved in several charitable events for the DPD, including one that raises money for children of domestic violence victims. Sadly, for Jeremy Mardis, who will never see another Christmas or Birthday or throw the ball with his dad, the reason for the stop that night is irrelevant. Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). The jury composed of nine men and four women was seated Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court and is expected to hear opening statements Monday morning in the trial of Joseph Weekley. Westbrook and his wife sued Weekley and other members of the SRT for assault, false imprisonment and gross negligence, alleging that officers came into the home without warning, shot and killed the family's two dogs for no reason and pointed guns at a child and infant, according to the complaint. Fishman said that for involuntary manslaughter to be proved, the prosecution would need to demonstrate that his client acted in a "grossly negligent manner" in the circumstances leading to Stanley-Jones' death. Officer Joseph Weekley was first through the door and after a flash-bang grenade went off, he fired his gun, killing Aiyana. Another question asked whether jurors had seen reports of "the so-called military equipment by police departments here and elsewhere that might influence your decision in this case," drawing a parallel between the law enforcement methods used in Detroit and those employed by Ferguson police officers during the protests that followed Brown's death. Weekley was a member of Detroits Special Response Team, which was sent to an east side neighbourhood to capture a suspect in the killing of a teenager outside a convenience store. A protester holds a sign referencing Aiyana Stanley-Jones at a rally for Trayvon Martin in Detroit on July 14, 2013. His lawyer later described it as a tragic accident. "I knew it was my gun that went off because I was right there," Weekley said. She pleaded no contest to the obstruction of justice charge, and the perjury charge was dropped. It was the first time any family member had stood in front of Weekley and directly accused him. As a medical device rep, it's common knowledge that we have a lot of "window time". The only full justice would be to bring Aiyana back and I can't do that.". Copyright 2003 by ClickOnDetroit.com. This button displays the currently selected search type. Greenhouse also happens to be the son of the assistant district attorney in Marksville. He spotted housemate Vincent Ellis standing in a doorway just before a stun grenade exploded, temporarily blinding him. During the trial, the prosecution sought to show that it was against procedure for Weekley to have his finger on the trigger of the gun and that not following his training caused the girl's death. 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