State of Indiana v. Leon Benson

Indianapolis, Indiana Defendant, Leon Dewayne Benson, a 22-year-old African American, was accused of killing 25-year-old K Kasey Schoen, who lived in Plainfield, Indian, about 25 miles southwest of Indianapolis.



Schoen, age 47, was shot to death while sitting in his truck at about 3:30 a.m. on August 8, 1998. The engine was running and his foot was on the break when he was shot five times by black man wearing dark clothing.



The State's key witness, a morning newspaper delivery person, testified that, as she was working her route between 2:30 and 4:00 a.m., she stopped her vehicle to place newspapers in a sidewalk vending box. Ahead of her and illuminated by her headlights she saw a black Dodge Ram truck parked with its driver talking to a man standing on the sidewalk. As she walked around the front of her vehicle, she heard two or three gunshots from the direction of the truck and looked in its direction, observing the man who had been standing on the sidewalk now walking in her direction. She then observed the man turn and walk back to the truck and fire two more shots into it. She could see the flash coming off the end of the gun in the man's hand. She got into her vehicle, tried to call 911 on her cell telephone, and drove ahead, passing the parked truck and seeing a man slumped over in the seat. As she drove by, the man who fired the shots was walking on the sidewalk and looked at the witness, making eye contact with her, after which he ran into a parking lot. The witness made an in-court identification of the defendant as the man who fired the shots.



One of the State's witnesses, Donald Brooks, testified that at the time of the shooting he was in a nearby upstairs apartment, that he heard several gunshots, and that he looked out the window at the crime scene. When asked where he observed the defendant located at that time, the witness stated, "I'm not exactly for sure.... I don't know for sure." Indianapolis Police Detective Alan Jones had evidence that contradicted Brook's testimony which was not disclosed.



At the time of his testimony, the witness was incarcerated in the Marion County Jail for violation of parole on a robbery conviction. When the witness expressed uncertainty as to the defendant's location with respect to the victim's truck, the State was permitted, over defense objection, to ask a series of questions implying that the witness was feigning memory loss out of fear of retribution from fellow jail inmates. The prosecutor's questions included: "How many people are in your cell block right now?"; "Do you want them to know whether or not you're a witness?"; "Do you want the people in your cell block to know what you're doing right now?"; "[W]hat might they do if they found out?"; and "Would it be fair to say that inmates who have testified for the State aren't the most popular members of the Marion County Jail?"



At the conclusion of the State's direct examination of the witness, it introduced in evidence a transcript of the witness's recorded interview with police shortly after the crime. In the statement, the witness told police that, while looking out of a second story apartment window, he observed the defendant approach the truck. The witness turned away from the window, but then heard four of five shots and looked out the window again, observing the defendant walking away from the truck.



The lead detect for the State of Indiana was Alan Jones who had evidence that the killer was one Joseph Webster and did not turn the exculpatory evidence over the the prosecutor or to Benson's attorney.



On August 10, 1998 Jones net with Detective Randy West, who said that a confidential informant had reported that in the hours before the shooting three men were in the parking lot where the shoot was seen running.

The informant said that he shooter was a guy called "Looney" and Looney was the nickname for Joseph Webster who had been arrested for possession of a .380 caliber pistol, the caliber of gun that had been used to shoot Schoen. Webster had also been seen wearing clothing like the newspaper carrier had said the shooter was wearing. None of this evidence ever reached the prosecutor or defense counsel. The manager of the Academy Apartments also told Jones that gossip around the apartment complex was that the police were looking for Looney. When Webster was arrested on another matter he refused to talk to Jones.



On the other hand Donald Brooks told Jones that the gunman was "Detroit," which was Benson's nickname..



Schmitt identified Benson from a photo lineup and not Webster despite the fact that Benson did not match the description of the shooter.



Benson could not prove that he was in an apartment nearby because he was selling drugs and his alibi witnesses did not want to verify his because they would incriminate themselves in drug crimes.



Benson admitted that he had been propositioned by Schoen, who was gay, at the Varsity Lounge, but benson denied being gay and turned Schoen down.



Brooks claimed that he saw Benson shoot Schoen and that Webster was also present.



Dakarai Fulton, a Marion County jail inmate, told Jones that he had seen the shooting and Webster was the shooter.

Fulton described the clothing that the shooter was wearing and it was the same outfit that Webster had been wearing when he was arrested. Also reported that shortly before the shooting he had encountered Weber who was carrying a .380 caliber pistol.



On August 23, 1998, Detective West sent Jones a message that he had another witness who said that Webster was the shooter.



An anonymous caller also reported that Webster was the killer and that he used a .380 caliber pistol that had been stolen out of Latasha Sheppard's car in early August. Sheppard was Webster's girlfriend.



Schmitt identified Benson as the shooter. Brooks recanted and was impeached with his own statements.

Benson's lawyer did not object the prosecutor reading Brooks' statement to Jones about the shooting.



Jones testified that Fulton had identified Webster as a suspect.



Three witnesses testified and one said that Benson was with him in the Priscilla Apartments when the shots were fired. Testimony about how Benson was dressed at the time of the shooting did not match the description of the clothing worn by the shoot by Schmitt.



Benson took the stand and denied that he had anything to do with Schoen's death and that he was sitting on the back stairway of the Priscilla Apartments when the shooting occurred.



Benson's lawyer did not call Fulton to testify and did not cross-examine Jones abut about Fulton's identification of Webster and did not call Gaither to testify. As a result, the witnesses who might hsave Benson from being convicted were not called to testify on his behalf.



It was also learned that here were multiple security cameras that likely recorded the shooting and that Brooks could not have seen what he claimed that he saw from his apartment window.

The first trial ended in a hung jury.

Defendant was found guilty at the conclusion of the second trial on July 9, 1999, of first-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm and was sentenced to sixty years in prison.

Defendant's conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Indiana on February 15, 2002.

Benson's conviction was upheld on appeal and this petition for post-conviction relief was denied.

In 2021, the Marion County Prosecutor established a CIU to review potential wrongful convictions. The USF RJC agreed to represent Benson and a reinvestigation was begun. Jones note were found and it was determined that Benson's lawyer had been deprived in violation of Brady v. Maryland of the exculpatory evidence that the jury did not know about when it convicted Benson.

Benson's conviction was vacated on March 8, 2023. He has spent almost 25 years in prison including 11 years in solitary confinement.

Benson became an informant for the FBI and was never charged.

This miscarriage of justice contains almost everything that can go to hell in a jury trial. Schmitt's identification was wrong. Brooks was did tell the truth half of the time and his testimony at trail was improperly impeached without objection. Detective Jones was not searching for the truth. He concealed evidence or just did not care to discover the facts that would have led him to the killer instead of an innocent man. Finally, Benson's lawyer did not adequately and professionally represent him. Combined the prosecution of Benson led to a gross miscarriage of justice.