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U.S. NEWS Saturday 16 September 2017

Expert declares qualified Imprisoned 24 years:

end to water crisis in Flint 2 men granted new trials in fatal robbery

52, confessed but soon re-
By JEFF KAROUB likely final round last month. canted. With no physical
Associated Press The testing showed that evidence against them,
DETROIT (AP) — An expert lead levels continued to their prosecutions hinged
who has warned about stay well below the federal on their confessions and
dangerous lead levels in safety standard of 15 parts testimony from witnesses
Flint, Michigan’s drinking per billion. who’d been in the video
water declared on Friday Flint’s water was tainted store around the time of
a qualified end to the crisis. with lead for at least 18 the killing.
Virginia Tech researcher months, starting in spring One identified Lee as a
Marc Edwards made the 2014. man browsing the shop
announcement at a news While under the control of shortly beforehand in a
conference two years to state-appointed financial green-and-purple plaid
the day after standing in managers, the city tapped baseball cap that was
front of City Hall with resi- the Flint River as its water then found near Merino’s
dents and other research- source while a new pipe- body. Kelley had told po-
ers to highlight serious lead line was being built to Lake Eric Kelley, right, is hugged by his lawyer Vanessa Potkin lice he was wearing the
contamination problem in Huron. But the river water moments after Passaic County Superior Court Judge Jo- cap himself.Then new DNA
the financially struggling in- wasn’t treated to reduce seph Portelli granted Kelley a retrial in the case in which testing in 2014 confirmed
dustrial city’s water supply. corrosion. As a result, lead he was found guilty of the killing of a video store em- there were no traces of
Edwards acknowledged leached from old pipes ployee during a robbery in 1993, during a hearing, Friday, either Kelley or Lee on the
the symmetry of the situa- and fixtures. Sept. 15, 2017, in Paterson, N.J. Kelley and Ralph Lee, who cap and found it was lad-
tions yet cautioned against Elevated lead levels, which was not present during the hearing, had been convict- en with genetic material
celebration. He recom- can cause miscarriage, ed and were currently serving terms. The new trials were from someone else: a man
mended the continued developmental delays granted after new DNA tests linked an important piece of convicted of a 1989 knife-
use of filters and warned and other problems, were evidence to another man. point holdup at a different
many residents will take a found in some children. The Paterson shop. He’d been
long time to regain trust in disaster has led to 15 cur- By JENNIFER PELTZ conviction reversal. released from prison three
government officials who rent or former governmen- Associated Press But for now, “I’m so happy months before the video
initially dismissed their con- tal officials being charged PASSAIC, N.J. (AP) — Two that I don’t even know how store robbery.“This new
cerns. with crimes and lawsuits long-imprisoned men were to explain,” Lee’s father, DNA evidence is clearly
“Today, we have equally filed by numerous residents. granted new trials Friday in Ralph Lee Sr., said as he left and convincingly capa-
definitive data showing A federal judge in March a deadly 1993 video store the court.“I’ve been wait- ble of raising reasonable
that he levels of these pa- approved a landmark deal robbery, after recent DNA ing for this day for a very doubt as to the guilt of
rameters currently in Flint to replace lead and gal- tests on an important piece long time,” added Kelley’s both” Kelley and Lee, Pas-
water are now back to nor- vanized steel water lines of evidence matched a daughter, Erica Mobley. saic County Superior Court
mal levels for a city with old at 18,000 homes by 2020. man never connected to She was 9 when her father Judge Joseph Portelli said,
lead pipes,” Edwards said. The city has so far replaced the case before. was arrested in a killing that though he added that he
“Obviously, there is still a more than 3,000, part of Eric Kelley beamed and so appalled gritty Paterson wasn’t opining that the
crisis of confidence among the mayor’s plan to re- laid his head on his law- that the then-mayor said two are innocent.
Flint residents that’s not go- place 6,000 this year. yer’s shoulder as a judge the case made him sick “That’s clearly a jury ques-
ing to be restored anytime Edwards expressed con- overturned his murder con- to his stomach.Merino, 22, tion,” he said.The man
soon. It’s beyond the reach cern for federal lead and viction in the death of store was beaten and stabbed whose DNA is on the hat
of science to solve — it can copper rules, which he clerk Tito Merino. Co-de- in a midday robbery while hasn’t been charged in
only be addressed by years said are several years out fendant Ralph Lee would he was working at his un- the video store killing. In-
of trustworthy behavior of date. He praised cities hear the news later: He was cle’s video shop. A com- deed, there’s no indication
by government agencies, and states working toward in a prison infirmary, recov- munity college student authorities have ever ques-
who unfortunately lost that enacting stricter standards. ering from gastrointestinal who aimed to become a tioned him about it.Having
trust, deservedly, in the first He’s also working with surgery. doctor, he had immigrated moved to Virginia, he told
place.” many other cities that have Both are being held on $1 to the northern New Jersey the defendants’ investiga-
Edwards’ team has collect- similar lead levels in their million bail as they await re- city from Peru about two tor he’d never seen the
ed samples from 138 Flint water supply once found in trial, and a prosecutor indi- years earlier. plaid hat, according to the
homes, with the fifth and Flint’s. q cated she may appeal the Lee, now 55, and Kelley, investigator’s testimony. q