< Back to front page Text size – +

Timeline in Drumgold case

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 21, 2009 02:50 PM

A jury today awarded $14 million to Shawn Drumgold in his federal civil rights trial against a retired Boston police detective. Here is a look back at key events in his case.

Aug. 19, 1988 -- Darlene Tiffany Moore, 12, of Roxbury, is shot and killed by stray gunfire while sitting atop a nearby mailbox a block away from her mother's home in the Grove Hall section of Roxbury.

Aug. 29, 1988 - Shawn Drumgold, 23, is charged with Moore's murder. He has a criminal record, including numerous drug and weapons offenses.

Aug. 31, 1988 - Terrence "Lug" Taylor, 23, of Dorchester, is arrested in Moore's murder. Prosecutors allege Taylor and Drumgold are members of the Castlegate gang and close friends.

Oct. 2, 1989 -- Drumgold and Taylor go on trial.

Oct. 5, 1989 -- Judge Charles R. Alberti declares that insufficient evidence had been presented to support the first-degree murder charge against Taylor, who is subsequently acquitted.

Oct. 13, 1989 - A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicts Drumgold of first-degree murder. Alberti imposes the mandatory life prison sentence without parole.

April 2, 1990 -- Jurors who convicted Drumgold are questioned about a court officer's alleged remarks during the trial. Drumgold seeks a new trial and argues that the alleged remarks may have prejudiced jurors against him. After Drumgold was convicted, alternate juror Daphlyn Wilson of Mattapan said that a court officer told at least one juror during the trial: "I hope to God Wilson is not on the deliberating jury or else this trial will be dragged on, and it is already costing the state too much money."

July 18, 1996 -- The Supreme Judicial Court upholds Drumgold's murder conviction, saying that despite some errors by police and prosecutors, he ultimately got a fair trial.

May 5, 2003 -- Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley orders homicide prosecutors to conduct an internal review of new evidence casting doubt on Drumgold's murder conviction. The announcement follows a Globe investigation that raised questions about the case.

Nov. 3, 2003 -- Suffolk prosecutors say they believe Drumgold was wrongfully convicted in the shooting death of Moore.

Nov. 6, 2003 - Drumgold allowed to walk free.

June 3, 2004 -- Drumgold's two lawyers file a lawsuit in US District Court against the City of Boston, Boston police, former police commissioner Francis "Mickey" Roache, and three officers who allegedly withheld evidence that could have cleared him and pressured a key witness to testify falsely at his trial. The suit alleges that the officers' misconduct resulted in his false imprisonment and seeks an unspecified amount in damages.

March 4, 2008 -- Drumgold's civil rights lawsuit goes to trial. The case hinges on whether two now-retired Boston police detectives, Timothy Callahan and Richard Walsh, violated Drumgold's civil rights, leading to his wrongful conviction.

April 10, 2008 -- A federal jury finds that Callahan violated Drumgold's civil rights in one of 11 claims: concealing that the detective gave a crucial prosecution witness "a substantial amount of money" before the witness testified at the murder trial.

April 16, 2008 -- US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner declares a mistrial after a jury deadlocks over Drumgold's claim against Callahan.

Sept. 10 -- Retrial begins in federal court on Drumgold's civil rights claim.

Oct. 21 -- A jury awards Drumgold $14 million, plus interest.

Compiled by Michaela Stanelun