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OPR recommends release of man wrongfully imprisoned for armed robbery -victim has already served almost two months of six-year sentence
Relief appears to be in sight for Desmond Junior Lewis, the 36-year-old man who was mistakenly jailed for six years on armed robbery charges in the place of a teen who has a similar name.
A senior police official disclosed, yesterday, that the Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has completed its investigation and has recommended that Mr. Lewis be released from prison.
WRONGLULLY JAILED: Desmond Junior Lewis
But before this happens, police have to send a report to either the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) or the Police Legal Advisor.
Information suggests that the Lewis family will be taking legal action. He has already been incarcerated for almost two months at the Lusignan Prison.
Desmond Junior Lewis was jailed on October 18, last, after police arrested him in Sophia during a series of police raids dubbed “Operation Restore Order.”
A police release had stated that when profiled, “Lewis was found to have been sentenced in absentia to six years on two counts of armed robbery committed in ‘A’ Division.”
Mr. Lewis was reportedly taken straight to prison following his arrest.
But police sources said that an OPR investigation revealed that the real robbery accused is 19-year-old Junior Lewis of Pike Street, Kitty.
He was charged in November 2017, for two armed robberies, which were allegedly committed on a couple who were near the seawall.
On November 4, 2017, the unemployed teen robbed Davina Persaud in Kingston, of one Samsung Galaxy mobile phone. On the same date, in Kingston, Junior Lewis allegedly also robbed Vishal Mohan of a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and $2,000 cash.
The teen pleaded not guilty and was remanded. However, police sources said that he subsequently managed to secure bail, but never returned to court to face the charges. He was later jailed in his absence. The teen is still at large.
Police said the blunder came to light, recently, and that the mother of Desmond Junior Lewis, who was living overseas, filed a complaint with the Police Office of Professional Responsibility.
One of the ranks who arrested the teen last year reportedly said that the man presently in jail, does not fit the age, nor does he resemble the individual, Junior Lewis.
“I can say beyond a reasonable doubt that the man in jail (Desmond Junior Lewis) is not Junior Lewis (the accused),” a source said.
A source also said that the mistake occurred because no attempt was made to confirm that the correct man had been arrested.
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