MACOMB – Life seemed to be cut short for a 54 year old Macomb County man when he was sentenced to 25 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for a crime he did not commit. Mark Howell will spend the rest of his life a free man once again after an 11 month investigation was opened up which resulted in new evidence clearing Howell of the crime.
Howell, now 62, was convicted of armed robbery of a Warren 7/11 in 2014. Despite not fitting the description given to investigators, prosecutors pursued the charges. Now the Warren Police Department will be facing a lawsuit for not revealing the conviction of a man who they later would learn was the true suspect in the robbery while Howell was still on trial saving him a conviction. The actual offender was convicted of 5 different armed robberies in South Macomb, including the 7/11 Howell was accused of robbing, labeled as a “serial robber” by Howell’s Civil Attorney, Wolfgang Mueller.
Now as a free man, Howell is eligible for $320,000 from the state of Michigan under The Wrongful Imprisonment Act. “He (Howell) should receive his money in 4 to 5 months.” said Mueller.
*photo courtesy – Jameson Cook, Macombdaily.com
