August 1, 2009 After being jailed 8 years, 2 are freed in 2000 shooting case BY JOE SWICKARD FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER After eight years and uncounted dashed hopes, DeShawn Reed and Marvin Reed walked out of custody into the free sunshine Friday morning after prosecutors decided not to retry them for a 2000 shooting that left a man paralyzed. "I knew this day would come," said Marvin Reed, 42. "I had faith in the Lord." His nephew DeShawn Reed, 33, had his doubts about the system. "I was not sure this day would ever come -- as tough as those prosecutors were and as tough as they fought," he said. The Reeds, both of Ecorse, were convicted in 2001 in the ambush of Shannon Gholston, who was shot through his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic. The men were convicted largely on Gholston's identification and were given 20- to 30-year prison terms. Their case came to the attention of the Innocence Project at the University of Michigan Law School, which presented evidence that another man -- found dead in a failed carjacking with the gun that was used in Gholston's shooting -- was the more likely shooter, along with Gholston's renunciation of his testimony. The dead man, Tyrone Allen, allegedly quarreled with Gholston over gold tire rims in the days before the shooting. Three weeks ago, Wayne County Circuit Judge Patricia Fresard threw out the convictions, saying there was a significant possibility the Reeds were innocent. The men remained in custody while prosecutors weighed their options. A bond hearing was set for Friday morning, but prosecutors instead announced that they were dropping the case. "We had some indication yesterday that this might happen and we're glad it worked out," said David Moran, head of the Innocence Project.

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