Mar. 27, 2010 Assistant Camden County prosecutor quits under scrutiny By Barbara Boyer Inquirer Staff Writer An assistant Camden County prosecutor accused of withholding evidence resigned yesterday after prosecutors agreed they never turned over all the information required when a Camden man charged with murder tried to prove his innocence. Harry Collins, who has been with the office for more than 15 years, resigned after the prosecution of Perman Pitman came under scrutiny. Pitman was freed last month shortly after officials discovered a handwritten note by Collins that said a witness had been paid to lie. Authorities concluded in February that the information had been withheld, and they vacated the indictment that put Pitman in jail. "What he [Collins] did to me and my family, he should be held accountable," a newly married Pitman said yesterday in a telephone interview. Pitman, 38, said that in 2007 it appeared his only hope of getting out of jail was to plead guilty in exchange for a five-year sentence. "From the day he was arrested, he was maintaining his innocence," said Pitman's Maple Shade lawyer, Andrew Smith, who is preparing a civil rights lawsuit. "Our justice system requires candor in the court, and this fell well short of that," Smith said. "He spent more than two years in prison while exculpatory evidence existed to free him." Collins could not be reached for comment yesterday. Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk, who was in private practice when Pitman was prosecuted, confirmed yesterday that Collins had resigned but declined to elaborate. Faulk said there was no indication that similar situations occurred with other prosecutions Collins handled. Faulk also said that Pitman and his defense attorney knew the witness had twice recanted his statement but that they may not have known he initially was paid to identify Pitman. While in prison, Pitman relentlessly filed motions to compel evidence he insisted would prove his innocence. He didn't know about the handwritten note until it was discovered earlier this year when Assistant Prosecutor Teresa Garvey started to review old files. "For your info. only," Collins wrote in a note that said the witness was paid to identify Pitman as the shooter, according to court documents. At the end, it read, "Please destroy this note." The note compelled the Prosecutor's Office to vacate the indictment. By law, prosecutors are required to turn over all exculpatory evidence. Although Pitman's case is complicated by a previous manslaughter conviction, Smith believes that if this could happen to Pitman, it could happen to others. "He was prosecuted with blindness because of his own criminal history," Smith said. On the night of the 2005 slaying, Pitman was well known to police as a former member of the street gang the Sons of Malcolm X. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 1992 slaying of fellow gang member Stephon Cook. When he was released from prison in 2005, he opened an auto-detailing shop in Cherry Hill. On Sept. 27, 2005, he was on a porch with his friend Robert Mays, in the 900 block of North Fourth Street in Camden. Two men in a car fired at least seven shots, killing Mays. Pitman ran, according to court documents. Authorities arrested Pitman on Feb. 9, 2006. Pitman said he had been at a bar when Mays called and told him he had gotten "beat" for drugs. Pitman met Mays in North Camden, and, he told police, he took off when the shooting started, according to court records. Investigators didn't believe him and charged Pitman with murder. "He was good friends with this guy [Mays]. He was a good buddy who he grew up with," Smith said. "In fact, Pitman alleged he was shot at as well and that there was evidence to prove it." A witness told investigators he saw Pitman, who had a gun in his waistband, and another man talking to Mays. He said both men pulled guns and started firing. According to court records, that witness later recanted, saying "he did not see anything." Another person told authorities the witness had been paid by others to identify Pitman. "I killed Stephon, but not Mays. He was like a father figure to me," Pitman told an Inquirer reporter in 2006 after he was jailed. Smith said Pitman and his attorney at the time requested investigative files to prepare a defense, but prosecutors failed to turn over documents or to pursue evidence that showed he was innocent. After two years and numerous trial delays, Pitman said, he was discouraged, and his attorney encouraged him to take the deal. "I requested a trial repeatedly, but they kept me out of the courtroom," Pitman said, noting that his case volleyed among three judges. "I was stuck. I couldn't get no help. Nobody would listen, and nobody cared." Prosecutors offered a five-year prison term if Pitman pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter. With two years already served, Pitman likely would be out before he was given a trial, Smith said. Although he took the deal, Pitman filed a motion for post-conviction relief asserting his innocence, that prosecutors withheld and ignored evidence. After reviewing files, Garvey filed a court certification Feb. 23 confirming Pitman's allegation. "I discovered a memorandum from Assistant Prosecutor Harry Collins, the trial prosecutor, to Investigator Matthew Woshnak, who was the lead homicide investigator assigned to the case," Garvey wrote. There was also the handwritten note saying the only witness linking Pitman to the crime had lied. "It was determined that the note and the information contained therein represented exculpatory evidence that should have been provided to the defendant," Garvey wrote. Two days later, Pitman was freed. "I cried. I just couldn't believe it. I fought for so long," he said. "Thank God, Ms. Garvey had the integrity to tell the truth."

Police/Prosecutor Misconduct

Truth in Justice