St. Louis man sues detectives over erroneous homicide conviction after 11 years behind bars
Lamont Cambell, previously sentenced to life in prison, now seeking unspecified damages
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A St. Louis man who spent 11 years behind bars for a killing before his conviction was overturned is suing the city and detectives who worked on his case, claiming the conviction for a crime he didn't commit violated his constitutional rights.
Lamont D. Cambell's lawsuit claims that a faulty investigation led to his years of incarceration. His lawsuit filed Monday seeks unspecified damages, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Cambell was jailed following the 2011 killing of 29-year-old Lenny J. Gregory III. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced in 2017 to life in prison.
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A judge in 2022 overturned the conviction, ruling that that Cambell's attorney didn't do enough to counter a weak case or explore an alternative suspect. The judge also determined that investigators failed to disclose a romantic relationship between the lead homicide detective and a key witness.
In January, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office formally dismissed the charges against Cambell and he was released.
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Cambell's lawsuit alleges that police ignored faulty eyewitness identifications and evidence that pointed to another man whose fingerprints were found on the passenger-side window of the SUV where Gregory was fatally shot. The lawsuit said Cambell also had a "solid, verifiable alibi" for the night of the shooting.
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A city spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit.