Drug seller who obtained $4m payout after he was ‘wrongly’ jailed for homicide is shipped again to jail after admitting one other killing
A Philadelphia man who received a $4.1million settlement from city officials after he served 24 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit is headed back to jail.
Shaurn Thomas, now 50, pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to killing 38-year-old Akeem Edwards on January 3, 2023 over a $1,200 drug debt, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
He had previously been convicted of second-degree murder for the November 1990 shooting death of a Puerto Rican businessman, and was sentenced to life in prison.
But Thomas had long maintained his innocence – saying at the time of 78-year-old Domingo Martinez’s death he was incarcerated at a juvenile jail, according to the Innocence Project, which helped get him released in 2017.
Attorneys from the organization discovered detectives knew Thomas had a potential alibi, and even had 36 pages of undisclosed witness statements pointing to other suspects, but zeroed in on Thomas because of statements made by two alleged co-conspirators.
Those co-conspirators’ stories, however, changed over time, and one even wound up recanting his testimony – claiming that cops 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 then released from prison and said at the time he had ‘no animosity’ toward the police, and planned to ‘just move on forward,’ according to ABC News.
Shaurn Thomas, now 50, won a $4.15million settlement in 2020 for his wrongful conviction of a 1990 homicide
Thomas was released from prison in 2017 with the help of the Innocence Project
Three years later, Thomas settled a suit against the city for $4.15million.
He had also joined a network of other Philadelphians who were freed from prison after their convictions overturned.
There, he met Ketra Veasy, whose brother, Willie, had his murder case overturned in 2019.
The two dated on and off for six years, and last fall, Thomas asked her to connect him with her childhood friend, Akeem Edwards, to see if he might sell some cocaine for him, prosecutors had said.
The ex-convict then gave Edwards a sandwich bag filled with drugs and told him to bring back $1,200 from the proceeds, which Edwards never paid by January 3, 2023.
That day, Thomas and Veasy met at her Delaware home and drove to Philadelphia to run some errands.
But before they returned home, she said, Thomas suggested they drive through the neighborhood to see if they could find Edwards.
When they ultimately spotted him, Veasy said, Thomas got out out of the car.
She later testified that she did not know Thomas had a gun with him that day and never wished any harm on Edwards.
He told ABC News he had ‘no animosity’ toward the police, and planned to ‘just move on forward’
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 waist band.
He told her, ‘He’s hit, he’s down, just drive,’ Veasy recounted, saying she did just that.
On the drive back to Delaware, Veasy said her boyfriend made a shocking admission.
‘He said it’s his third homicide and he said he can’t go back to jail,’ Veasy testified.
She further claimed Thomas told her he knew where her children and her family lived and to ‘keep my mouth quiet 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 Thomas put out a hit on Veasy out of concern she might cooperate with investigators, the Inquirer reports.
That led to a search of Thomas’ home, where cops recovered five guns and a Gap hoodie that resembled the one Edwards’ shooter wore.
Thomas was then arrested and charged with illegal gun possession, but was released on bail.
After being released, he had an on-and-off relationship with Ketra Veasy (center), whose brother, Willie, had his murder case overturned in 2019
Meanwhile, Philadelphia police continued their investigation, and received cell phone data that placed Veasy and Thomas at the scene.
They were both arrested in March and charged with murder.
While behind bars, Thomas sent Veasy letters she said were intimidating, and she ultimately agreed to cooperate with police and testify against Thomas in exchange for less serious charges.
Veasy wound up pleading guilty last year to aggravated assault and conspiracy charges, and is awaiting sentencing.
For his part, Thomas did not deny any of the claims in court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to six crimes, including third-degree murder, conspiracy and illegal gun possession.
He is due to be sentenced in February.
