Donald hearing postponed

Tuesday's hearing for a man claiming his innocence in a 1992 robbery spree in Gary that ended in a fatal shooting was postponed after Indiana State Police found hairs on the murder victim's jacket that could be used for DNA testing.

Nearly two decades ago, Willie T. Donald was sentenced to 60 years in prison for armed robbery and murder. But Rhonda Fleming, one of the robbery victims, recanted her testimony against Donald in July, saying prosecutors and police convinced her Donald was her assailant.

Meanwhile, Donald's defense team had been pressing to gather DNA evidence from the Cubs jacket Bernard Jimenez was wearing when he was slain by an armed robber in Gary's Glen Park neighborhood. The jacket has not been examined since he was killed 17 years ago.

Jimenez's fiancee Kimerly Garza has not recanted her testimony identifying Donald as the robber who shot Jimenez during a struggle shortly after 9 p.m. outside the couple's home at 3660 Massachusetts St. At least three other similar armed robberies, including that of Fleming, took place that night in Gary, all originally attributed to the same assailant.

Now, the newly discovered evidence from the jacket could prove whether Donald was at the scene of the crime.

"We believe it's inappropriate to comment when a case is pending," said Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor's office, when asked about the discovery. "We would reserve the right to comment until (after) it is complete."

Donald's defense attorney, Thomas Vanes, also declined comment.

On Monday, Vanes filed a motion to continue Tuesday's hearing at a future date, according to court records. Lake County prosecutors and Vanes had not reached an agreement about which agency would conduct the DNA testing or if the testing would be paid for by the state, according to the motion.

"These issues cannot be resolved prior to the hearing as currently scheduled," according to the court document.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Watson did not object to the request, according to the motion.

No new date has been set for the hearing or for determining the means of getting the test.

The DNA testing will involve a comparison of mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA. Mitochondrial DNA is a genetic blueprint women pass on to their children.

The defense's alternative suspect, Lavelle Thompson, was murdered shortly after the Feb. 27, 1992, crimes. The mtDNA from the hair found on the victim's jacket will be compared to the mtDNA from a sister of Thompson's, because her mtDNA would be the same as her brother's.

Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project, which looks into potential wrongful convictions through an investigative journalism class, became involved two years ago and helped discover new evidence in Donald's case.

The Medill Innocence Project most recently has been in the news after the Cook County state's attorney subpoenaed students' grades, class grading criteria, expense reports, e-mails and other material in relation to an unrelated case faculty and students investigated. A former student has said a prosecutor implied students might have been pressured to find exonerating evidence in order to earn good grades.