GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The City of Grand Rapids has released video depicting the 2014 incident in which an innocent 17-year-old was arrested by police as he ran home to make curfew.
The video was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request from 24 Hour News 8. Police initially denied the request as the investigation continued but recently released much of the video and audio.
The arrest happened on Aug. 7, 2014 after Christopher Melton left a relative’s home and began to run toward his own residence in an effort to be there before his 10 p.m. curfew, he said. He was held for three weeks and charged with home invasion and armed robbery, among other charges. The teen with an unblemished criminal record faced life the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
As Melton was running home, police were in the area investigating a home invasion and searching for two suspects. An officer located a suspect vehicle and attempted to pull it over. The vehicle stopped briefly as one suspect jumped out and ran. The other sped away in the SUV.
“Black male. Black T-shirt. Blue jeans,” an officer described the running suspect over the radio.
Police responded to the area and searched for both suspects.
A short time later police spotted Melton running in the area. He was stopped and detained.
Melton denied any wrongdoing and told police that he was trying to make curfew. An officer questioning Melton seemed suspicious of his story, some details of which changed as he repeated it. He also questioned the teen’s timeline, which didn’t seem to match up with where he was when police found him.
Around the same time, police located the suspect vehicle and detained the driver. They thought, perhaps, they had captured both perpetrators from the home invasion.
Police brought the victim — who had been tied up and robbed in her own home — to the scene of each arrest to see if she recognized the men in custody as the men who forced their way into her home.
First, police took her to the scene where the vehicle was stopped and the actual perpetrator was being held. She immediately said that he was involved.
“That’s him!” she said as she began to cry. “When he left out the house he had my money in his back pocket.”
Police then took her to the area where Melton was being held. She seemed less confident.
“I can’t really see the guy. Have him move more towards the light,” she said. “Tell him to look this way. Yeah, that’s him.”
“I know he had light colored shorts and I knew that he had a black shirt on,” she continued.
The officer inquired further.
Officer: “So you are 100 percent sure that that is him.”
Victim: “Yes.”
Officer: “That he was involved-”
Victim: “Yes… I mean, I don’t know if you guys will get fingerprints…”
The man who’d run from police was wearing jeans. Melton was wearing what appeared to be khaki-colored shorts.
Nonetheless, Melton was booked and charged.
Upon further investigation, police learned that Melton was not involved with the crime and he was released. The actual perpetrator was ultimately arrested and both of the real suspects pleaded guilty to charges connected with the case.
While acknowledging that Melton’s arrest was unfortunate, police and prosecutors say the case was an example of the system working the way it was supposed to.
“It’s a horrible thing for anybody like this to happen but it’s a convergence of a lot of things,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker told 24 Hour News 8 shortly after Melton was freed last year. “It was a wrong place wrong time.”
Shortly after Melton’s release, his mother Rayna Santos said all she wanted was an apology from police about what happened.
Monday, she said she’s still waiting.
