Gary man's convictions on murder, robbery charges vacated

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A Lake County judge and magistrate have vacated convictions against a Gary man who was sentenced in 1992 to 60 years in prison for murder and robbery charges.

The convictions of 47-year-old Willie T. Donald were vacated Monday by Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez and Magistrate Kathleen A. Sullivan, The (Munster) Times (http://bit.ly/201WSFl ) reported. The judge and magistrate ordered Donald be brought from the Indiana State Prison on Thursday when the Lake County Prosecutor's Office must decide whether to retry him or let him go.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said Monday that he was aware of the rulings regarding Donald and was looking into what to do moving forward.

A series of holdups took place the night of Feb. 27, 1992, in Gary's Glen Park neighborhood. A woman told police she was awakened by a man knocking at her door, and that he burst through the open door, held a gun to her and then fled with $50.

Authorities believe the same armed man came out of the shadows when Bernard Jimenez, three young girls and his fiancee were coming home. Jimenez was fatally shot.

Police suspected Donald, and the woman who told police she was robbed after opening her door identified him in a police lineup.

The court ruled Monday that the woman's identification of Donald was flawed and that Gary police hid that from Donald and his trial attorney. Defense attorney Thomas Vanes said the woman gave testimony in 2013 as part of Donald's appeal that she always had doubts about the identification, but that she was convinced by police they had the right man.

"It was always a square peg in a round hole," Vanes said. "The key descriptor for the robber was an acne-scarred face. No one looking at Donald then would have used that term to describe him."

Vanes, who won the appeal, said he expects charges will be dropped.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com