Keyante Rix had had three run ins with the law and had been wrongfully convicted twice, the first when he was four foot eleven and mistaken for a robber that was six feet tall. While on parole from Juvie, Kyante worked with a youth group mentoring troubled teens, one of whom was an illiterate wheed dealer named Kurtel Walker. One of Kurtel's customers was the manager of a rent center
who handled the business's bank deposits. The pair had crafted a scheme in which the customer would settle a twenty five hundred dollars weak debt by handing over the rent to center deposit bag to Kurtel and then claiming that
he had been robbed. On June twenty eight, two thousand and four, keyante Rix was on his way to Six Flags with his children's mother, a friend, and Kurtel, but before getting on the road, the group made a stop near the rent a center, where, unbeknownst to the others, Kurtel met up with his customer to follow through with their plot. Taking a bit too long, the other three almost left without him, but Kurtill caught up with them,
making a big scene in the process. When the police arrived to investigate the stage robbery, a concerned passerby who saw Curtel screaming and running after the car, gave the police the license fleet number, even though Keyante had none of the money and wasn't involved in any way, one offhand remark in the interrogation room sent a racist cop on a mission to pin the entire crazy scenario on him, falsified evidence, made the mistimeter of felony, and put the
money in Kiante's possession. A statement was coerced, prepared and signed by the illiterate Curtel, and even when Kurtel tried to recant and the alleged victim came forward about the stage robbery plot, both were silenced. Keante Rix was sentenced to twenty years in prison. This is Wrongful Conviction with Jason Plomm. Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction with Jason Foum. That's me. I'm your host, and today we're gonna share
a story. It's the story of Kyante Rix. But before I even introduced Kyante, let me just run a few numbers by you. So Kyante was wrongfully arrested three times, wrongfully convicted twice, and on one occasion he was shot twice and then made into a suspect. He spent five years wrongfully incarcerated as a child from fourteen to nineteen, and then was said back to prison as an adult, where he served almost thirteen years. And the problem is
he never did anything. I mean, Kyante, I'm glad you're here, but I'm sorry you have to be here man, after everything you went through.
Thank you.
And as you will soon see, Kyante has maintained an incredible attitude, even a sense of humor through all of this. And Chiante, let's go back to the beginning, if it's okay with you. And first of all, this is back at Buffalo.
Right, Yes, sir, I grew up in Buffalo, New York. The third incident transpired in the.
Amherst and Amherst is a suburb of Buffalo, where you lived with your daughter and her mother, Marina, during the time of your second wrongful conviction. But let's go back to your first wrongful conviction as a minor. You were fourteen years old fourteen? How old are you now? I'm thirty eight, so this is twenty four years ago. You're fourteen years old, four feet eleven. What's crazy about this
original case was this was related to a situation. Your cousin had had some involvement in a scuffle that was forty dollars that was owed and recovered. The alleged victim claims he was robbed in stabbed, but now we know that never even happened. The victim describes his assailants to assailants as six feet and five eleven, and you were four eleven. So how did you first get involved?
Well, I was actually with my cousin on his street outside and the police put up and handcuffed us and put us in a police car and then drove us to a hospital. And some guys came out and they looked in a police car and they said, yeah, that's them. And I mean that was the beginning of that right there.
The only way the police could sort of rope you into this was by bringing you in as in like a show up inside of a squad car, right, which is of course going to buy us anybody. But and I guess you might look taller sitting on the seat in a squad car, but this is obviously madness. And then you go all the way to trial on this crazy thing, even though we're talking about an imaginary crime and two imaginary suspects who were a foot taller than you were, and you're fourteen years old, you're a child.
Yes, and I was sentenced as an adult when I went to trial. But this is the thing, though, the things that we just spoke about, it actually came out and trial. The public defender that I had did mention it that the guy gave the description of five eleven and six foot and I was only four foot eleven.
And he also mentioned that the guy did not get stabbed and had a superficial wound that required a band aid, even though the jury was constantly told that this guy got stabbed and I was sentence as an adult to three and a third to ten years in a juvenile maximum secure facility.
Is it true that your lawyer was drunk at trial?
Yes?
And how did that come out?
Well, I can see he was slurred while he was talking.
Oh so he was. He was legit drunk. He wasn't a little drunk. He was like he was, yeah, okay, that's great. I mean, I'm sorry, I just have to be sarcastic because if I don't laugh, I'm gonna cry and this is not of course, that's what I do. This is not the first time we've heard this though, that a lawyer was drunken trial. So the lawyer was drunk a trial. He claimed that he appealed to charge,
but we know that never even happened. I mean, this is this is disgusting, and you lived through this and I can't even imagine, Like, and you're a child at fourteen years old, they call it a teenager. That's a child. So fourteen years old you go to prison, right do they call it juvie? But your sentence is an adult? And what is that? Like?
Well, I just say that, I mean you had the man up. I mean it was a serious environment. I mean all of the other kids that was in these juvenile maxes, a majority had you know, like eight the life and stuff like that. And you know, you're away from family, you can't be around your loved ones.
And I mean at fourteen, a lot of kids have trouble adjusting the summer camp.
I was putting the jungle when I had to survive in it. So you know that week get took an advantage of you know, and I'm not a weak person, so I mean it was a lot of fighting, and there was a lot of stress. It was depression, it was all kind of stuff you know that comes with the problems of being incarcerated period. And then as a kid, it was like, you know, I needed to be home, I needed to be around family and loved ones and you know, being deprived of that love and you know
I made it through it. I just have a different attitude. I want you, I just want to say that that even though I was victimized, I don't live like a victim because I know that you re victim I yourself every day if you allow your thoughts to stay there. So that's why my attitude is more passive of saying, like, you know, I did what I had to do when I went through what I went through.
I did what I had to do, and I went through what I went through. But I think everybody can use to hear that. So thank you for sharing that. So, Chante, you're parole at nineteen, you're out free, still under control of the system because you're on parole, but you started a family. Life is starting to look up. But then tragedy struck again, right, and this goes back to when you well, you were actually on your way to the hospital when this incident happened.
Right, Yes, my daughter was more the day before. I couldn't stay in the hospital because I was on parole, so she wanted me to come to the hospital the next day. I was actually at my cousin's house. I left out of the house and as soon as I closed the passenger door, two guns went off. I was shot twice. They collapsed both my lungs, my ribs was broke, and I ended up in critical condition.
And you were taken to the same hospital that your daughter was at.
No. I was rushed to every county medical center, and a security officer testified actually at the parole preliminary hearing that the car put up the driver said the passenger was shot him and three nurses ran up to the car. They said I was slumped in the seat. They put me out of the car. See how many times I was shot. Then they put me on a stretcher pushed
me into the hospital. Then later on they assumed that somebody was breaking into the car and they ran over to the car and they seen a gun in the car that was in the seat that allegedly I was sitting in.
Right, I remember reading, they found a gun in the car and tried to pin it on you, and then nine months of more legal struggles and your life hanging in the balance again. Of course, charges in that case were dismissed, but your troubles weren't even over yet. Now we get to Kurtel Walker. Can you tell us about Kurtel and who he was to you?
Well, Kurteil was a trouble youth. He had a lot of mens abilities, you know, he had a similar situation like his mom was on drugs and stuff like that. And I was actually working for a youth organization that was ranan by this older gentleman named fred A lamin riused to help the troubled youth, you know, to prevent them from making bad decisions and stuff like that. So Kurteil was one of them that was basically, you know, participating in the programs.
So you were sort of keeping an eye on Kurtel, Is that right, Like trying to keep him out of trouble, even though he was selling weed. And you know, by the way, a lot of people are selling weed now, I mean it's like the people are getting rich off of weed legally, So that's a whole nother story. But okay, so you were trying to sort of be almost like a big brother to him, right, Yeah, I was.
I mean I was a big brother to a lot of the kids because a lot of them, you know, grew up fast being into the streets, doing a lot of things they wasn't supposed to be doing. So, yes, she was one of the kids.
And now we fast forward to June twenty eight, two thousand and four, and correct me if I'm wrong, But the way I understand that you and your children's mother, Marina, and this is an important part of the story because Marina is white, and we know that there's a cop who gets involved in this, and people are saying that it's because he didn't like the fact that you were a black guy dating a white girl or avage kids with her.
Nonetheless, yes, Officer Brown had prior problems with them.
And you were celebrating your birthday, right, yes, right, So June twenty eight, two thousand and four, you and the Marina celebrating your birthday going to six Flags and Darien Lake in her car. Your friend Tina's driving, and Kurtel was along for the ride. Yes, And so Tina had an errand to run before you went to pick up your daughter for this little day trip. Right, and the erin happened to be right near a rent a center.
Unbeknownst to you, one of Kurtel's customers owed him twenty five hundred dollars for weed.
Right, Yes, the manager of the Renaiscenter store. His job was to fill out the receipts and stuff like that and to put the stuff into the bank deposit bags. Then additionally take the deposit bags to the M and T bank that was located in the same plaza. But instead of him doing that, he established a plan where he would pay Kurtail the money that he owed him.
So the manager put the money that he owed Kurtail in the bag, had Kurtail meet him, and then gave Kurtail the bag, and then later on faked as if Kurtail had actually robbed him because he had to have a way to cover up what he did.
Right because sooner or later they would have noticed the twenty five hud dollars missing, obviously, so they staged this fake robbery. Again. It's like something out of a bad movie. But okay, So back to the car before picking up your daughter and heading the six flag, Tina stopped to run an errand near the rent to center, Tina went.
To the store. I was sleeping the back seat, and Curtail told her listen, I'll be right back and hopped out of the car and left, so no one in the car knew what he was doing. When Tina came out of the store, Curtail was not back and we was about to leave him, so she put off. Curtail came running to scream stop the car, so Tina put over. Curtail came and hopped in the car and Tina in them sat there for a while. I think one of them thought that they had misplaced their keys or something,
so they set there for a while. And that's when the guy, Edward Dupre, who just happened to be walking down the street, said that he thought something criminal happened when he's seen the way that Curtail ran and screamed to stop the car, and when the car remained idle, that he walked directly by the car, wrote the license plate number down and got a good look in the car and said that he's seeing the two females and
Kurtail walker. But I was in the car, but he didn't see me in the car because I was sleeping in the back seat. Oh that's how that happened.
And did you have any idea of all the insanity that was taking place?
I did not, because I mean, you have to understand this, Jason, I got a pregnant girlfriend in the car. I'm on parole, I'm working. Of course, I would never have been around something like that. So I did not know what Kurtail Walker had did. And this was another thing that you
know that came out in the transcripts. If the individuals, even if you have stupid criminals, okay, it's no way in the world that a car of criminals is going to sit less than a street away from where a fake robbery transpired.
It defies all logic and common sense. You're not going to sit around and wait to get in trouble or get arrested or whatever it is. So the manager calls nine to one to one and then things go downhill from there.
The guy Edward Deprido was walking through when he said that he wrote the license plate number down. When the police put up to the crime scene, he gave the police the license plate number. That's when the APB got put out for Marina's car.
And then here comes this officer who becomes your tormentor. But it starts with him spotting the car.
So we got off the interstate and Officer Brown was shooting radar. He began to follow Marina's car. We put in our driveway and Pheasant run. At this time, I was living in Amherst when I had prior problem with Officer Brown. Officer Brown performs a felony stop after he calls for backup. It was a lot of Amherst police that was immediately there. Officer Brown comes to me, throw me on the ground, handcuff me on my hands behind
my back, search me. Find absolutely nothing on me because I did not have anything place me in the police car. The other officers, you know, check search everybody else. Walker said that he did not have handcuffs on. Walker actually took the bank deposit bags and hid it in his boxer briefs, which makes sense that the officers is not checking your area, you know. So they didn't find any of the stolen items that Kurteil had on him.
They also put Marina, who as you said, was pregnant, on the ground, and the cops need her on the neck right on the pavement.
No, they had their knee on her back. And then her mother ran outside with my daughter in her hand and went up and the police officers aimed the gun at her mother and told her to back up, and her mother was screaming, she's pregnant, she's pregnant Oflficer Brown then had Marina to sign a waiver and he went and searched her car. When he searched her car, he found the two purses that belonged to Marina and Tina that was in the front seat. Alficter Brown then took
money out of both of those purses. Then he came back. He transported me in patrol car one o seven. Because these numbers are very very important reference to the fabrication of evidence. He transported me in his patrol car, which was Amherst patrol car one o seven, to the crime scene. He brought me out of the car. The fake victim manager came out and said, no, that's not him. He got Kurtail Walker out of Amherst patrol car one oh five.
He didn't identify him as well. He then went and searched the patrol car that Kurtil Walker was in patrol car one o five found two thousand dollars that Kurtail Walker had took out of his pants. Now, based upon the testimony, Kurtail Walker said that he hid two thousand dollars at the back of patrol car one oh five and he had eighty eight dollars in his pocket. Officer Brown then made Kurtail Walker kick off his shoes and he recovered deposit bags, audit slips, and receipts that belonged
to the renn A Center. So, after Thomas Brown recovered the checks, the deposit bags, and the money from Kurtail Walker, he then got back at the police car that I was in transported me to Buffalo Police headquarters. And based upon the transcript, Officer Thomas Brown stayed the Buffalo Police Headquarters for about two hours while the Buffalo Police officers
conducted the investigation. So Officer Brown then asked me that I have any information about the criminals and am hearst and that if I gave him information then I wouldn't have to worry about a parole violation. And I told him, yes, I have information. You should take your handcuffs out and
rest yourself. Officer Brown became very angry, and he started saying, you know, you nigger, this that and the third, ou't make sure you never get out of jail, and this, that and the third, and you know he went above and beyond after that, I'll say.
That now they brought Kurtel into it, right, And so they interrogate Kurtel, who couldn't read or write, and under physical duress and under pressure of a twenty five year sentence and he was underage, they got him to sign a statement that again he couldn't have understood because he couldn't read, and say that you had planned the robbery and that he just was sort of went along with it and gave you the money.
Right, Kurtail Walker. On the day of the incident, the officers basically slapped him around and did all of the stuff to him. Right, So the officer that prepared the report, Detective Mark Joseph Lauber, first of all, I will say that he got caught up in some racist stuff. I actually have the New York Times article. He got caught up in some racial text messages and stuff and killed a black guy and said that the guy aimed the gun at him and the gun got found on the roof.
So this is not you know, a good police officer. Let me put it like that, even though he was able to beat these charges. Okay, now he's the one that was in the room with Kurtail that prepared the statement. Kurtil could not read, so you know, they threatened him and told his grandmother listen, if he do not sign this statement, he's gonna get twenty five years in jail. He needs to sign a statement. So the statement still stated that it wasn't a robbery. Though this is the thing,
they just added my name in there. Kurtail still let him know, like listen, you know the guy gave him the money. So the very next day, when we got out on Bill, I was informed that my name was in a statement, and I was very upset. I was very upset. So the families all had a meeting, his family's grandmother, mother, father, everybody had a meeting, and that's when Kurtil told them, like, listen, this is the truth.
You know the guy owe him money and that you know, basically I had no knowledge of it, nothing to do with it, and neither did the girls. So the grandmother takes Kurtail to Buffalo police station. The very next day and tells the officers, listen, Kurtil Walker wants to confess. My grandson wants to confess, to tell y'all exactly what happened,
because he just told us exactly what happened. The officers refused to take the confession and documented in a police report and say, Kurtil Walker came in here the next day to the Major Crimes unit, told us that the first statement was false and that he wanted to recent the involvement of ricks and we told him to leave and have a nice day, and the officers wouldn't even take the confession from him. And I actually have the police reports to prove every single thing. You know what I'm saying.
Now they start fudging more of the evidence, right because in order to charge you with a felony, they had to have over three thousand dollars that was stolen, right, And they've got all these disparate amounts of money. They've got the money that they actually stole from the girl's purses was fourteen hundred. Then they've got the two thousand that Kurtel hid in the back of squad car one oh five, which you never were in. Then they've got
eighty eight dollars from Curtel's wallet. If you add all of this up, it's three four hundred and eighty eight dollars. So they needed to get to a number over three thousand dollars where they could charge you with a felony, which we know Officer Brown very much wanted to charge you with a felony. But how did they manage to end up framing you for this one?
Well, the Buffalo police officers had Officer Brown writing notes of everything that transpired why he was with me, and my lawyer ended up obtaining a copy of those notes, so those notes not say anything that the police reports
that Officer Brown prepared later ended up saying. After Officer Brown went back to Amherst Police station, Officer Brown prepared a statement that's called a seven ten thirty statement and stated that I'm made verbal statements to him saying that Kurtil Walker gave me the stolen money, that I hid the stolen money in my shoe, and that I basically took the money out of my shoe while my hands was cuffed behind my back and hid it inside of the police car.
Right, So we got to believe that you're some sort of magician who deny David blamed somebody where you could while you're in handcuffs, magically remove the money from your shock or shoe and stick it in the other car that you never even were in. That's got to be magic. That's incredible. I mean, that's really what you have to believe if you're going to believe their story on top of all the other lives and nonsense.
And then Officer Brown stated that I'm made verbal statements to him saying if he got rid of the money, then I would tell him about the criminals and Amhurst because it's going to break my parole. Now that seems crazy, because I never was charged with possession of stolen property initially until Officer Brown testified at the grand jury. The district attorney actually added the possession of stolen property charge because the Buffalo booking report shows that absolutely nothing was
taken from me. It says no items was recovered from the defendant. I actually have copies of every single one of these police reports. I had one hundred and fourteen dollars that was my personal money. They put it with my property and they gave it back to me the next day. Now, what Officer Brown did this is how
they pulled this off. When he came to the grand jury, he testified somewhat truthfully, he still liked and said that he recovered the whole thirty four hundred from Kurtail Walker, when in reality he only recovered two thousand dollars that Kurtail Walker had hid in the backseat of the police car and the eighty eight dollars that Kurtail Walker had in his pocket. And they added the fourteen hundred from the women to change it from a mister meanor to
a felony okay. So at the Huntly Map hearing, it was a pre trial hearing. Well, the prosecution had to establish if they had probable cause or not to arrest me. So at the Huntly Map hearing, only the arrest officer could come and testify. And Officer Brown comes to this hearing and he testifies under oath that he placed me under arrest at the crime scene after he recovered the stolen money from the police card that I was in. Then he charged me himself with possession of stolen property.
Then he ran me my rights after he charged me with possession of stolen property, and then I waived my right to self incrimination. And that's when I made a verbal statement. Okay, and the judge decided that Overser Brown was believable so that he can admit the physical evidence.
Probably the truest thing you ever said is that he should have arrested himself. He would have been throwing us all a favor. But okay, So just to keep track, all right, So Officer Brown has now changed the details from his initial notes to Buffalo PD, to his seven ten thirty, then to his grand jury testimony, and then to the Huntly map hearing, and all the while the judge, the DA and everyone else is finding ways to find him believable. Great, now we move on to the trial.
Okay. Now, during trial, Officer Brown had a complete three point sixty. Okay. Officer Brown testified that he was not the arresting officer, He was not the assisting officer. He was not present when I was placing under arrest. He did not know if I was placing under arrest. And the thing is Austin Brown also testified that he was the only officer that was with me from the initial time in Amherst where he put the car over and
took me into custody. At the crime scene in at Buffalo Police station for two hours while the Buffalo officers conducted the investigation. Right then and there, the judge, the district attorney, and everyone was made aware of the fact that Officer Brown falsified everything at the Huntley map here and they just ignored it.
So the victim didn't testify a trial. Courtel, Walker didn't testify a trial and Curtel Courtel.
He went on a run when I went to trial.
So let's talk about Michael Demko.
Michael Demko was my trial attorney. He played an important role in uh me actually ended up in jail. With me getting out of jail. He didn't cause certain witnesses that I requested that he called. You know, he said that the reason why he didn't call them was because without a victim and without an eyewitness, he didn't even figure that, you know, they would go anywhere with the case because based upon the law, those charges were supposed to be dismissed. But you know, uh, with the witnesses,
they subpoenat every single person. They subpoena the fake victim who was in custody on a material witness warrant, who actually provided affidavit later on, stating that he told the district attorney that I didn't have anything to do with him, that he wasn't robbed, but they didn't allow him to testify because the district attorney threatened him and told him, you better not come to court and say that Kiyante is innocent or you're gonna get twenty five years Okay,
Marina and Tina was subpoena district attorney told them that, you know, he dropped charges on them, and they told him that they knew the victim and that he never got robbed, and that Kurtail never robbed him, and that we never had no knowledge of what they did with The district attorney told them the same thing. Y'all better come back with a different story. Y'all better not come and testify that Kiante is innocent, and he did not
allow them to testify neither. Okay, this is crazy. The two managers was the only other two the.
Two managers of the RAC which is the place where the fake robbery occurred, who weren't even there. Both testified. One testified that he was present that day and that the alleged victim had left with the bank deposit and came back out of breath claiming to have been robbed, also that he was unsure whether it was one hundred or one hundred thousand dollars that was lost. The other manager testified to establish the value at thirty four eighty eight,
so somebody obviously fed him that information. So then during cross examination, it came out that the second manager that established the one who established the value, hadn't even started working at the location until almost a year after the freaking incident, so he didn't even know the allegend robbery victim. But he was an assistant manager, had a different location. He wasn't there. Like this is I can't with this shit.
And like as you just said, you know, one was to establish the value of the money, which is important because you know, say an element of possession of stolen property, it has to be a value. He testified that the money took in and the money claimed to be recovered match to the penny, which was a complete lie because based upon the bank all it slips, it was not the same amount of money. And he testified during cross examination that he did not work at the store until
a year after the incident. When Demico axed him. Did you did you ever hear that your your own manager actually stole the money? He said, I just heard there was an investigation and he was let go shortly after the incident, so they definitely knew that he was not robbed.
No, it was a fake robbery. And I don't even know sometimes why we have perjury laws when people like this just lie at will understand and just get away with it and just move on with their lives. And yeah, this is this is some really bald faced lying going on here, and a lot of it from a lot of different people. Okay, So you ultimately get convicted in June two thousand and five of robbery and criminal possession of stolen properties, and because of your prior wrotical conviction,
your sentence was enhanced to twenty years. So I mean, how did you deal with that? And what was that moment? Like?
Man, it was it was terrible, man, because I had a baby on the way, man, and you know, I'm a real family man, and I had two babies that's born. Man, that's a year and like a year in like five months. So I just sat there and just watched my family. Like the whole court room went crazy because everybody knew that I was innocent. And the day that I got sentenced to twenty years, Kurtil Walker please guilty to the rapper charge.
So there's a crazy piece of the story that could have turned into a real problem. In the devious move, they stuck you in the bullpen with Kurtil Walker, who was underage at the time. Shouldn't never have even been in the same place as you, and where my mind goes as a bad place. They were trying to get you to do something.
Yeah, hoping that I would kill a kid. I just got fresh twenty years sentence. You know what I'm saying. No one is going to be in their right mind with a twenty year since, especially for a crime that they didn't commit. And then you put this person in there that got me in there, you know, hoping that I would do something to him, But I said, no, I'm not gonna do nothing. I know that he told them the right stuff.
So you go to prison. Can you just give us some insight into what that experience was like.
Yeah, it was real, it was critical, It was critical, man, and I went into a great state of depression and then I prayed. I prayed and it was like I just said, listen, I got to obtain my freedom. I don't got time to sit in here and be stressing about anything else. And that's what happened. I mean, my child's mother got married in like six months, so I was in It was like thig after thig after thig. You know what I'm saying. And it was just like I just looked in the mirror and I said, man up,
that's it. I said. The only way you're gonna get your life back if you fight for it. So that's why I went into law libraries and I started learning the law. Yeah, you know, it took a long time, but you know, thanks to God, I was able to get out of there and give us most of that time back.
So Kiante, there you are. You're studying law, you're praying, you're doing everything you possibly can. You're finding strength in a place where I think almost anybody else would have just collapsed, but you found this other gear. I have so much respect for you. But anyway, you filed pro say motion after pro say motion. Our listeners know that means that's when the person himself or herself files their
own legal briefs. But nothing was working until a friend of your uncle came to visit you, and that's when the ball started rolling back in the right direction.
Right. Yes, I had about twelve motions that I filed in the state courts, and I figured, you know, no victim, no eyewitness, with all of this evidence, these judges are going to do what they supposed to do, you know what I'm saying. And not one of them even probably reviewed those motions. So then my uncle had brought one
of his friends to see me. That was Carl the Viver, and my uncle told him that I wasn't supposed to be in jail, and he came to see me and he said, listen, if the stuff that you say is true, then I'm going to be a help you get out of jail. He was connected to attorney Robert Goldstein. So basically me and Carl prepared the motion. You know, they conducted an investigation. That's when they was able to speak to my trial lawyer, Michael Demko, and they was able
to speak to the fake victim and everyone else. And that's when you know, the fake victim provided an affidavit to let him know that you know, he wasn't robbed, and basically that he had told the district attorney when he was incarcerated on the material witness warrant, and that when the district attorney told him, you know, basically to leave,
that he went and spoke to Michael Demico. And then Michael Demko provided an affidavit in stating that the victim did confess to him prior to my trial, told him that he was not a victim in the case, that he never was robbed, that he owed her tail Walker money, and that basically he used the money to satisfy a drug debt. And then Demko said that, and this is
in his affidavit. He said that he couldn't take the statement because it will be a conflict of interest because the prosecution's office will state that he tried to co hurt him to give an affidavit that could exonerate me, being that I was his client. So he referred him to another attorney named Daniel Grasso, who's now I think a judge in Blaisdell. But he also provided an affidavit to say, yes, you know, Demko's client came, but he never retained me, so, you know, and that's what happened.
So I had all of those affi Davis, the judge granted me and hearing at the four point forty hearing with Judge Burns, we had about eight affi Davis was affidavits from the victim, attorney Mike Demico, Attorney Danie Grasso, Kurteil Walker, Marina and we had an affidavit from a Bruce Barnett, Affidavid from a Dianne Barnett, and then we had my affidavit all and it never was anything that was against me but the fabrications of Officer Brown.
District Attorney John Flynn said there was no robbery here. The victim was in on it. It was Grand Larson. The fact of the matter is that he was serving time for crime he did not do. And then Judge Burns said, in this court's view, the new evidence is sufficient to establish that quote, no juror acting reasonably would have voted to find it defending guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt with regards to the robbery charge. So now you got this amazing statement from the DA and the judge and ultimately I know you were released on February third, twenty seventeen, after serving twelve years and ten months, and probably some other days too. But how did you end up getting released? How did that work?
Well, listen to it is it's pretty interested too. Okay, Well, the judge issues in order for my immediate release because they dismissed the robbery charge which held twenty years. In the possession of stolen property charge held I think it was two hunt third to seven years. So the maximum amount of time that I could have done on a possession of stolen property charge with seven years being that I did twelve years and ten months. He issued the order for my immediate release.
What was that day? Like?
Man, it was like finally, you know, I couldn't believe it, you know, because I mean you look at the average people in jail, and a lot of them that's innocent. It's still not coming home. You know. I got a lot of friends, like I got like thirty guys that I look out for that's in jail.
You know.
I do much as I can because not in the best position right now, but a lot of people ain't coming home. So I just feel fortunate enough to be able to obtain my freedom.
So you come out of February third, it's probably minus thirty degrees outside of Buffalo, February third. But nonetheless it must have felt pretty warm.
I wasn't think about the weather, I can say that.
And meanwhile, now I'm hearing that you well, you got married a couple of years ago, so congratulations on that.
Thank you.
And I hear now you're doing some amazing things with a couple of my favorite people, Xanneries named Marty Tankliff and Jeffrey Deshkovic. Both have been on the show before.
Well, I mean I met Marty when I was with Kean. Kean Kalabi was one of xanneries who's also an attorney, and Steve metcalf. I know who Marty's connected with then Jeffrey Deskovic. I was telling you that I assisted him with the prison reform movement and him and Bill Busnick in Pennsylvania. It was at Temple University, but all of the pa exannarees, and yeah, I mean that's that's a few.
I have a lot of different attorneys that you know, I've been connected to and you know, sending them cases, and me and Carl still been doing a lot of work together. He's definitely my friend, you know, who helped me get out of prison.
So yeah, that's awesome and has also been on the show. He's an incredible guy. And then you're doing amazing work with all these great people, but you're also still fighting your own wrongful conviction for the possession of stolen property charge.
Yes, now this is where it gets really, really interesting. Kurtail Walker testified that he had twenty five hundred in his pans, he put five hundred in his sock, and he hit the two thousand in the police car. In the transcripts, Judge Burns had the stenographer to add that he asked Kurtail a question personally, how much money did you have? And Kurtail said three or four thousand dollars.
That never was said. I really couldn't understand why Judge Burns fabricated the transcripts because whether he had three or four thousand dollars, it does not matter because I did not have any of the money. You understand what I'm saying,
which it does not make sense at all. So after they fabricated the transcripts, a motion was put in to settle the transcripts, and it was eight affidavits inside of that motion as well from all of the people that was present during that hearing to say no, kurtail Walker never said that. They denied that motion. So now it goes to the twenty nineteen hearing. We file another four forty We had the evan, the police reports and stuff
like that. So the lawyers presented the motion and the judge granted and hearing Judge Christopher Burns grants the hearing. He gives a specific order and says the hearing specifically revolves around the amount of money that was obtained from defending Rix during the time of his arrest. Okay, because you know, we got all of the proof saying listen, they recovered his money from Kurt to Walker and from
the women pursus. You know, we have the police reports to prove this and witness affidavis the fourteen hundred dollars that Officer Brown recovered from the women's purse. Because he was the only officer in Amhurst that searched the car, so it's not like other officers could have recovered it. None of the Buffalo police officers was in Amhurst. When we went to Buffalo Police Station, Officer Brown gave the
fourteen hundred dollars to another officer named Joanne Cino. This was the officer that was with Marina and Tina, and she created a police report that stated that fourteen hundred dollars of the stolen money recovered was recovered from the women's purses. The prosecutor withheld this police report, so the defense never even knew that fourteen hundred dollars of the thirty four hundred dollars actually belonged to the purses of the women. So this was a police report that I
was able to obtain during a four year request. Also, when I mentioned patrol car one to five, after the officers recovered the stolen money hidden in the backseat of the police car, they took a picture. I was able to obtain a copy of the Amherst police report which shows that the only picture that they took of the money was from patrol car one to five, not patrol car one o seven where I was at. So we
go to the hearing. Two things had to be established, the time of arrest and what was obtained from me during that time. Okay, based upon the judge's order. So we established that I was placed under arrest by Officer Martin Motely and Officer Johnson Loveto. We established that they never charged me with possession of stolen property. We established that the booking report proved that no stolen money was
ever recovered from me. And we also had Kurtil Walker to come testified to all of the other facts that we just spoke about. And we had Marina to testify that the officers did take the money out of her purse. Okay, all of that was established. Da Flynn he had just came in office in twenty seventeen. Okay. So for the twenty nineteen hearing, Robert Goldstein, at my requests, had a
meeting with DA Flint and d A. Herrity. He showed Da Flynn everything DA Flynn told him, he didn't care about it, and then told Thomas Brown everything that Attorney Goldstein has said to him in the letter. We actually prepared a letter that mentioned all of the perjuries and stuff like that. Officer Brown's testimony changed at every single
court appearance. So when we had the twenty nineteen hearing, Officer Thomas Brown now comes and testifies that he never searched Kurtil Walker, he never recovered the deposit bags, he never recovered the checks, he never recovered the money. This is what he testifies to end the record, and this is why I'm pushing right now to get charge just
pressed on him for this perjury right here. He knew that we had proof to prove that he fabricated that evidence in reference to that money when I was able to obtain that police report that mentioned, you know that he basically gave that money to that officer. So now he knew that we had sufficient evidence, and he said that he never recovered nothing. He said, listen, I seen the money, and I pointed out to the Buffalo Police,
and they're the ones who recovered it. Listen where it gets crazy, though, because the Buffalo booking report shows that absolutely nothing was taken from me. That means that none of the prosecution witnesses ever recovered any stolen money, any stolen checks or anything. I ended up finding a police report. It was like God woke me up at six o'clock in the morning and tell me look through all my papers.
And I got thousands of papers, and I found that Amherst police report with Officer Thomas Brown badge number and signature that said that he overturned the checks, the deposit bags in the thirty four hundred dollars of money combined to the Buffalo Police. So now I said, okay, I want childs pressed on officer Brown for the perjuries that he committed in the twenty nineteen hearing. I don't feel that anyone else should be held at any different standard.
You know, it was perjury. It's clear perjury. We have sufficient evidence to prove it. So we file a reargument motion. Judge Burns completely ignores it, ignores it, and then on top of ignoring it, say that officer Brown was believable, and so do Da Heredy. They say, oh, all of the other witnesses, you know, basically wasn't believable, but officer
Brown was. But Judge Burns did admit an order that there was a Brady violation, meaning that the officers did withhold the fourteen hundred dollars that was taken from the women's purse, and that Marina was believable when she testified that they actually took the money. But he did not dismissing that charges based upon the Brady violation when he knew the amount of money was an essential element to a possession of stolen property charge. And now I have
tourney Steven Metcalf. We have an appeal in we have all of the perjuries and stuff that's being mentioned. Again going back to the Appillar.
Division, there's still possibility that the perjury charges can be brought right.
Oh yes, as well within the statute of limitation. And then the perjury just was committed in twenty nineteen. So as of recently, I just had meetings with Citizens' Action. You know, it's about thirty other organizations that was going to assist me in bringing the truth to DA Flynn and the mayor of Buffalo so that these charges can be brought against this racist police officer, Thomas Brown.
Is there anything that anyone can do to help you? I say to it, I mean, me, my team, our audiences, so many smart capable people out there that are listeners, that are that are wanting to get involved, and I know they're going to hear your voice. They're going to say, I can't let this stand. There's got to be something. Is there something? Even if it's something as simple as writing a letter or making a phone call, but maybe there's more. I don't know. You tell me, I need.
All of the assistance that I can get. I mean, you see how complicated this is, and it's bigger than me. I'm still new to this world, so it's like I'm just figuring it out. However, anybody that's willing to assist me, I'll provide all of the paperwork to show that I have sufficient evidence to support every allegation that I'm making. And yeah, I just need the people just to be with me, to support me to prove my innocence.
Right. So what we're gonna do for starters is we're going to start a petition. There'll be a link in the bio so people can sign up. People can follow you as well on Instagram and social media if you can give us those handles.
My Facebook, my Instagram, my YouTube, and my SoundCloud is all under Keante Rix and the correct spelling is k e yo n ty r cks.
Let's follow him and keep in the know about the developments in the case by following Kyante and checking the link in our bio. And now, Kyante, what can I say? Man? I knew I was going to be in for a whirlwind when we did this interview, but I wasn't even prepared for all these twists and turns. It's an extraordinary story and it's an amazing life that you're living now. And more power to you. I wish you all the success and blessings in the world, you and your family.
And now we have a thing called closing Arguments, and this is the part of the show where I first of all, thank you again Kyante for being here. And now it's up to you to share whatever thoughts you want about anything with our audience.
Well, this is something that I want to put in an atmosphere because I feel that a lot of times we focus more on the problems than we focus on the solutions. And I know that this is bigger than me, so that suggests that we create something like like a motion review committee. Okay, the average exign of reason I think they said was doing about a minimum of twelve years or I don't know if that was just PA. But what I feel is that it's not just the
police that's killing people in the streets. They're killing people in courts. It's the district attorneys, and it's the judges too. It's a demonic system. And what we need to do is not just focus on prosecutors or police. We need to focus on these judges as well, because if you see, you know, in my case and the evidence that I have like the judges, both of them, you know, played a major part, including their pillar judges who you know,
it's my right to confront my accusers. So I mean, how do you uphold a conviction without a victim and without an eyewitness. It makes no sense based upon the United States Constitution. So what I feel is that we need to create committees, even if we had to contract with the lawyers. I know the lawyers are under attorney client privilege, but I feel that when they're putting motions in that these motions should be filed to the committees.
And when the judges ignore the constitutional or procedural violations, then I think that the committee should come together to file complaints with the Judical Conduct Committee to get them judges out of office, because I mean, that will help the people get out of prison that's not supposed to be there. It will also prevent people from actually going to prison. And when you hold the head of the body accountable, the head of the body holds the rest
of the body accountable. The district attorney is not the most important person or the strongest person inside of that courtroom. I believe it's the judge. Because the judge has to say so and even though they are able to withhold evidence in different things of that nature, but it's ultimately up to the judge, you know, And a lot of times the judges see the truth. I mean, one of their famous statements is get it on the pill, and a lot of people don't really pay attention to what
that means. What that means is I know that it's constitutional or procedural violations in your case, but I'm not going to give you the relief that I know I'm supposed to be given to you. Let another judge give it to you, because I'm not doing it, and that's not right. It's not just the individuals a single judge or or single district attorney, or a single police officer.
It's the whole system. And the only way for that system to come down is if we all get involved in it and we stop turning our face to the police, prosecutor and judicial misconduct that's transpiring on a constant basis. So that's basically all I want to say. I sincerely thank you for allowing me to be able to come on here, to be able to tell my story. I've dedicated my life to doing what I'm doing. I also work with the youth group in my church. I have
a customizer shirt business. I'm on a verge of starting a young man Empowerment Academy because my wife has the Young Woman Empowerment Academy and she has like two centers in Buffalo won a Pensylvania about the start of Chapter of Virginia. We're deeply invested in the community and helping people. But like I said, the power is in numbers and the powers with the people. So we all have to come together and just figure this out because nobody's exempt.
It's not just the color thing. I mean, yeah, it's happened more to blacks and Hispanics, but it's happened to everybody, you know what I mean, this system, it happens to everybody, and it's happened more so to the lower class, the people who can't afford you know, attorneys and different things in that nature. So I just say that, you know,
I thank y'all, and it's all about coming together. And however I'm able to be of assistance to help with people that has their freedom in their life taken, then I'm I'm for it. So anyone can contact me. I'm wanting to assist however I can, and that's all I want to say. Thank you for allowing me to come on your show.
Don't forget to give us a fantastic review wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps. And I'm a proud donor to the Nisis Project and I really hope you'll join me in supporting this very important cause and helping to prevent future wrongful convictions. Go to anesisproject dot org to learn how to donate and get involved. I'd like to thank our production team, Connor Hall and Kevin Wartis. The music in the show is by three time OSCAR
nominated composer Jay Ralph. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction and on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast. Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flam is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts and association with Signal Company Number one