Friend Of C-Murder’s Admits Killing, Lawyer Says
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Three weeks before Corey "C-Murder" Miller is retried on a murder charge, a friend of the rapper’s who is serving a life sentence in a Georgia prison for homicide has admitted he was the shooter in a Harvey nightclub seven years ago that left a teenager dead, Miller’s attorney said.
Prosecutors, however, said the friend, Juan Flowers, who was with Miller at the Platinum Club on Jan. 12, 2002, denied he and the rapper were involved in Steve Thomas’ killing.
Miller, 38, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Thomas, 16. A jury convicted Miller in September 2003, but a judge gave him a new trial after finding that prosecutors did not share with the defense background information on three of their witnesses.
Jury selection begins Aug. 3. If convicted of second-degree murder, Miller will be sentenced to life in prison.
Miller’s attorney, Ron Rakosky, wants Flowers transported from Smith State Prison in Glenville, Ga., to testify in Miller’s trial, records show.
"Juan Edwin Flowers has stated under oath that it was he who fired the shot which killed Steve Thomas," Rakosky wrote in the July 3 request. "His testimony is therefore relevant and he is a material witness."
The request requires approval of Judge Hans Liljeberg of the 24th Judicial District Court, who is presiding over Miller’s case. If Liljeberg, who has not acted on Rakosky’s request, finds that Flowers is a material witness, he could ask a Georgia judge to order Flowers to Jefferson Parish to testify.
Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorneys David Wolff and Shannon Swaim filed papers in court last week, saying that on Feb. 2, Flowers told Jefferson Parish authorities that he was with Miller "specifically at the time that Steve Thomas was murdered."
"Flowers denied that he or Corey Miller were responsible for the murder of Steve Thomas," the prosecutors wrote, defining the information as exculpatory because it could be viewed as favorable to the defense.
Flowers also told Jefferson Parish authorities that he twice met with Rakosky in 2003 and provided the same information. "Flowers stated that Mr. Rakosky told him, ‘It would not be in Miller’s best interest for you to testify on his behalf,’¤" the prosecutors wrote.
Flowers, 36, began his life sentence in November for a murder that happened in Fulton County on March 14, 2007, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Flowers also received a five-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm in that killing.
The latest round of information to emerge in the case conflicts with information given by another of Miller’s friends, Dwayne "Wango" Cobbins, 35, of New Orleans, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for threatening a witness in the Thomas murder investigation. Since pleading guilty, Cobbins, who received nine years in prison, has denied threatening anyone, court records show.
On Feb. 11, 2004, Cobbins told a prosecutor that during the brawl, Miller struck Thomas first, followed by a group of young rappers from the Calliope public housing development, now called B.W. Cooper, according to district attorney’s office records.
Cobbins said he did not see Miller shoot Thomas. But in the car after the shooting, Flowers said, "No one could see C (Miller) shoot that ‘tiny little gun,’ according to a summary of Cobbins’ interview with the prosecutor.
Cobbins said it was then he learned that Miller brought the "small gun into the club in his boot," according to the interview.
Cobbins, who is in a federal prison in Texas, has declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Miller is in custody at the East Baton Rouge Parish jail. He pleaded no contest in May in the 19th Judicial District Court to two counts of attempted second-degree murder in an August 2001 incident in a Baton Rouge nightclub. On surveillance video, Miller is shown pointing a gun at the club owner and a bouncer after he refused to be searched.
Judge Tony Marabella sentenced Miller to 10 years in prison, but he gave him credit for time served. That includes the time he spent under house arrest in Jefferson Parish between March 2006 and May, which was done with Marabella’s approval, Miller’s Baton Rouge attorney, Steve Moore, has said.
The plea, however, is conditioned on the state Department of Corrections giving Miller credit for home incarceration when calculating the time he’ll serve in prison, Moore said. That won’t happen until after Marabella sentences Miller on Aug. 25.
–Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Three weeks before Corey "C-Murder" Miller is retried on a murder charge, a friend of the rapper’s who is serving a life sentence in a Georgia prison for homicide has admitted he was the shooter in a Harvey nightclub seven years ago that left a teenager dead, Miller’s attorney said.
Prosecutors, however, said the friend, Juan Flowers, who was with Miller at the Platinum Club on Jan. 12, 2002, denied he and the rapper were involved in Steve Thomas’ killing.
Miller, 38, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Thomas, 16. A jury convicted Miller in September 2003, but a judge gave him a new trial after finding that prosecutors did not share with the defense background information on three of their witnesses.
Jury selection begins Aug. 3. If convicted of second-degree murder, Miller will be sentenced to life in prison.
Miller’s attorney, Ron Rakosky, wants Flowers transported from Smith State Prison in Glenville, Ga., to testify in Miller’s trial, records show.
"Juan Edwin Flowers has stated under oath that it was he who fired the shot which killed Steve Thomas," Rakosky wrote in the July 3 request. "His testimony is therefore relevant and he is a material witness."
The request requires approval of Judge Hans Liljeberg of the 24th Judicial District Court, who is presiding over Miller’s case. If Liljeberg, who has not acted on Rakosky’s request, finds that Flowers is a material witness, he could ask a Georgia judge to order Flowers to Jefferson Parish to testify.
Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorneys David Wolff and Shannon Swaim filed papers in court last week, saying that on Feb. 2, Flowers told Jefferson Parish authorities that he was with Miller "specifically at the time that Steve Thomas was murdered."
"Flowers denied that he or Corey Miller were responsible for the murder of Steve Thomas," the prosecutors wrote, defining the information as exculpatory because it could be viewed as favorable to the defense.
Flowers also told Jefferson Parish authorities that he twice met with Rakosky in 2003 and provided the same information. "Flowers stated that Mr. Rakosky told him, ‘It would not be in Miller’s best interest for you to testify on his behalf,’¤" the prosecutors wrote.
Flowers, 36, began his life sentence in November for a murder that happened in Fulton County on March 14, 2007, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Flowers also received a five-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm in that killing.
The latest round of information to emerge in the case conflicts with information given by another of Miller’s friends, Dwayne "Wango" Cobbins, 35, of New Orleans, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for threatening a witness in the Thomas murder investigation. Since pleading guilty, Cobbins, who received nine years in prison, has denied threatening anyone, court records show.
On Feb. 11, 2004, Cobbins told a prosecutor that during the brawl, Miller struck Thomas first, followed by a group of young rappers from the Calliope public housing development, now called B.W. Cooper, according to district attorney’s office records.
Cobbins said he did not see Miller shoot Thomas. But in the car after the shooting, Flowers said, "No one could see C (Miller) shoot that ‘tiny little gun,’ according to a summary of Cobbins’ interview with the prosecutor.
Cobbins said it was then he learned that Miller brought the "small gun into the club in his boot," according to the interview.
Cobbins, who is in a federal prison in Texas, has declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Miller is in custody at the East Baton Rouge Parish jail. He pleaded no contest in May in the 19th Judicial District Court to two counts of attempted second-degree murder in an August 2001 incident in a Baton Rouge nightclub. On surveillance video, Miller is shown pointing a gun at the club owner and a bouncer after he refused to be searched.
Judge Tony Marabella sentenced Miller to 10 years in prison, but he gave him credit for time served. That includes the time he spent under house arrest in Jefferson Parish between March 2006 and May, which was done with Marabella’s approval, Miller’s Baton Rouge attorney, Steve Moore, has said.
The plea, however, is conditioned on the state Department of Corrections giving Miller credit for home incarceration when calculating the time he’ll serve in prison, Moore said. That won’t happen until after Marabella sentences Miller on Aug. 25.
–Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune
