Man exonerated of murder last year now suspect in new case

“Wrongful convictions warrant correction by the criminal justice system because they undermine confidence in the system, and because the actual persons responsible for serious and violent crime are not held accountable.” — Jane Roh, spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office

A Philadelphia man wanted in the fatal shooting of a 50-year-old artist and musician last month was released from prison last year after city prosecutors helped overturn his conviction for an unrelated 2012 killing — a decision that at the time drew resistance from the victim’s family and even the judge.

Jahmir Harris, 32, is expected to be charged with murder in the death of Charles “Chali Khan” Gossett, a producer, director, and community advocate who was ambushed outside a restaurant and lounge in Overbrook on Sept. 5. Authorities believe Harris drove two shooters to and from the scene, and at one point approached Gossett on foot in the parking lot moments before returning to his car and driving the attackers toward Gossett.

Harris has not yet been apprehended, authorities said. He had been in prison on an unrelated murder conviction until March of last year, when the District Attorney’s Office said it found that evidence in the case had been improperly withheld from his trial lawyers.

Prosecutors successfully sought to have the case overturned — even though the judge who approved that admonished them for their handling of the appeal, questioned why they felt confident Harris should be freed, and did not endorse their belief that he was innocent.

Harris was convicted of firing 17 shots at Louis Porter outside a Walgreens at Oregon Avenue near 23rd Street in December 2012. Porter had just parked his car and his 5-year-old son was in the backseat when he was killed.

Prosecutors said Harris and Porter were in a dispute over fake Percocet pills and money. An eyewitness identified Harris as the shooter, and he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Porter’s brother, Walter, said Thursday that the reversal of Harris’ conviction came over the objections of his family, who still believe he is guilty.

When Walter Porter recently came across a news story featuring surveillance video of Gossett’s killing, he said, he instantly recognized Harris as the suspect — and called police to identify him.

“I’m like, ‘Wow, this dude again,’ ” he said. “It’s the same exact pattern, [Harris] did it the same exact way. To see that happen to that gentleman, it just brought everything back.”

Harris’ exoneration last year is one of 29 instances in which District Attorney Larry Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit has helped overturn a conviction. That record has earned the office national attention — and, at times, pushback from skeptical judges. Until now, prosecutors say, no one who’s been freed has gone on to face charges in a new killing.

Gossett’s sister, Linda Cruz, said she was “angered” and “devastated” by Harris’ history, saying the process by which he was freed “wasn’t intended for murderers to get on the loose.”

Jane Roh, spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, said that prosecutors still believe Harris’ rights in his older case were violated, and that the office’s recent review of that case led prosecutors to believe Harris was “likely innocent” — a position that has not changed based on the new allegations against him.

“Wrongful convictions warrant correction by the criminal justice system because they undermine confidence in the system, and because the actual persons responsible for serious and violent crime are not held accountable,” Roh said.

In the 2012 case, the DA’s Office last year raised questions about the reliability of the eyewitness’ statement, and said cellphone records cast further doubt on Harris’ involvement.

They also said the case file

contained information about an alternate suspect — something that had been illegally withheld from Harris and his attorneys before trial.

The DA’s Office asked Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi to vacate Harris’ conviction and set him free, which she did — but not without hesitation.

At one point, DeFino-Nastasi ordered prosecutors to show proof of a more thorough investigation proving that Harris was not involved. Later, she harshly criticized Patricia Cummings — then the director of the Conviction Integrity Unit — for what the judge cast as an incomplete review of the case.

She said she “wonder[ed] how the commonwealth felt confident in releasing a murder suspect from prison” when prosecutors were simultaneously saying their investigation remained ongoing.

In the end, DeFino-Nastasi granted the DA’s request to overturn Harris’ conviction and dismiss the charges. Krasner said afterward he was “not surprised” that his reform-oriented administration was “going to be lightning rods on occasion for hostility [from] institutions that are not quite as ready for change.”

Walter Porter, the victim’s brother, said Thursday that he and his relatives have never wavered in believing Harris was guilty, and that the evidence supported a conviction. He said he told that to Cummings several times before she took her position in court.

But Harris’ release, Porter said, “was a forgone conclusion,” adding: “I felt like I had no representation” during the process.

Attempts to reach Cummings for comment Thursday were unsuccessful. Roh said: “Our office met its professional and ethical obligations” toward the Porter family.

Harris now stands accused of participating in the fatal ambush of Gossett, who was shot last month around 2 a.m. outside the Bleu Brook restaurant on the 1700 block of North 56th Street. Police have not identified either of his suspected coconspirators.

Cruz, Gossett’s sister, said that he’d been there for a friend’s birthday party, and that her brother had a large family and group of friends who were all heartbroken over his death. She said he was an artist, filmmaker, and musician who was generous and kind and went out of his way to help people.