A trial has been set for Willie Donald, a Gary man wrongfully convicted in a 1992 robbery and related homicide in the city’s Glen Park neighborhood.
Donald’s trial against the city of Gary, the estate of John E. Jelks, Jr., and former Gary Police Department Officer Bruce Outlaw has been set for Feb. 24 in Hammond’s U.S. District Court.
U.S. District Judge Philip Simon will oversee the trial. Simon said in a pre-trial conference Tuesday that the trial start date could change to the beginning of March to help prosecutors’ schedules.
Donald first filed a complaint on Jan. 24, 2017. His complaint had nine counts, which included issues with due process, conspiracy to deprive of Constitutional rights, failure to intervene, two counts of malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, respondeat superior and indemnification.
The trial is expected to last no more than two weeks, Simon said Tuesday.
Defense attorney Michael Tolbert and Simon said Tuesday that Outlaw is in bankruptcy, which could stall litigation. Simon encouraged defense attorneys to make a filing of the bankruptcy to get the trial started.
“I want to get this case tried and off the docket,” Simon said.
Donald’s complaint claims that as a result of the wrongful conviction, he suffered a loss of liberty, loss of wages, attorney’s fees expended in defense of his wrongful prosecution and efforts to prove his innocence, physical injuries and emotional trauma.
In 1992, Donald was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of Bernard Jimenez. He was exonerated in January 2016, after spending nearly 24 years in prison for the crimes he didn’t commit.
Former Lake Superior Court Judge Richard W. Maroc asked why the state didn’t seek the death penalty, according to Post-Tribune archives.
A series of robberies on Feb. 27, 1992, in Gary’s Glen Park neighborhood led to Jimenez’s death. Gary Police said Donald allegedly forced his way into the home of Rhonda Williams in the 4400 block of Connecticut Street, robbed her and threatened to kill her when she gave him only $50.
Police said Donald allegedly walked into Jimenez’s house and threatened him 30 minutes later, according to Post-Tribune archives. Jimenez, his fiancee and her three children were home, and the offender threatened to kill the children if he didn’t receive more money.
Jimenez was shot in the heart and back of the head.
The night of the robberies and murder, Donald shopped for a new car for his family, according to Post-Tribune archives. Two victims identified Donald as the offender, and he was convicted by a jury, despite no physical evidence.
Donald filed for an appeal in February 1997, according to online court records. A court heard his pleas in 2015, and his convictions were overturned.
