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The parents of a 15-year-old said their son, Martell Williams, was coerced into confessing to a crime he didn't commit by police officers who took him into custody.
Authorities also bribed the Illinois teen with McDonald's in order to get him to confess to the February 4 shooting of a local Dollar General store employee he was not aware of.
Williams was pulled out of class at Waukegan High School in Waukegan, Illinois by police.
Police offered wrongly arrested teen McDonald's for confession \u2014 attorneyhttps://www.newsweek.com/police-offered-wrongly-arrested-teen-mcdonalds-confession-1681283?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1645536316\u00a0\u2026— Newsweek (@Newsweek) 1645537365
According to WLS, Williams–a high school freshman basketball player–spent two nights behind bars in Waukegan's police department after he was wrongly accused.
You can watch a news report, here.
It was later confirmed Williams was at a basketball game in Lincolnshire, 20 miles away from the crime scene.
The family's time-stamped photo of his location during the crime helped to exonerate him from the attempted murder and aggravated battery charges intended for someone else.
Williams was initially believed to be the hooded suspect seen in the surveillance photos that were released to the police department.
The suspect allegedly tried to steal from the Dollar General and shot the intervening store employee in the face.
"The officer said that multiple people came to him and said it was me," said Willaims.
My God. Cops offered teen McDonald's in exchange for confession to shooting crime someone else committed\n\nFYI it\u2019s legal in most states for police to lie to kids. VA GOP just voted against a bill that bans this horrid practice \n\nHow Do You Reform This???https://abc7chicago.com/waukegan-il-police-department-wrongfully-accused-shooting/11587147/\u00a0\u2026— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@Qasim Rashid, Esq.) 1645588042
His parents were never informed by the school's principal when their son was pulled from the classroom for interrogation.
Williams recalled the day he felt humiliated in front of his peers.
"The dean came down and got me and walked me to her office. And once I reached her office, there were two police officers."
"As soon as I got in, they didn't tell me nothing, say nothing to me. They just said, 'You're under arrest.'"
This heartbreaking and disgusting.— ThatBadGirl\ud83d\ude07 (@ThatBadGirl\ud83d\ude07) 1645630816
Teach your kids to repeat: I WANT A LAWYER!! NEVER talk to the police Police offered teen McDonald's in exchange for confession to crime someone else committed: attorney https://abc7chicago.com/waukegan-il-police-department-wrongfully-accused-shooting/11587147/\u00a0\u2026 #SmartNews— Sher \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udf0a Don't call me Shirley (@Sher \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udf0a Don't call me Shirley) 1645520119
Two nights in jail??? For nothing. \n\nThe system is definitely working as it was designed.https://abc7chicago.com/waukegan-il-police-department-wrongfully-accused-shooting/11587147/\u00a0\u2026— Tony Starks (@Tony Starks) 1645536856
@Waukegan_Police I would call this a new low but the bar is buried in the earth's core at this point.https://abc7chicago.com/waukegan-il-police-department-wrongfully-accused-shooting/11587147/\u00a0\u2026— Hafford Woods (@Hafford Woods) 1645542519
He also claimed he was offered McDonald's in exchange for a confession without telling him what crime he was being accused of.
Although the charges against him were dropped and the city said they were reviewing the case, Williams' family said that wasn't good enough.
So they hired a lawyer.
At a press conference, Williams' attorney, Kevin O'Connor, said:
"They didn't even tell him a shooting was involved. They just said, 'Hey, it wasn't your fault. Just tell us you were defending yourself. Just go ahead and tell us you were there and we will let you go home.'"
O'Connor demanded a public apology to clear Williams' name before the student went back to school.
"This is a continuing and ongoing problem," O'Connor added.
"The Department of Justice has been here, yet this is still going on, where there are false confessions brought in."
We know the boy's name. How about the police officers' names? What the hell, Waukegan?\n\nPolice offered teen McDonald's in exchange for confession to crime someone else committed: attorney https://abc7chicago.com/police-offered-teen-food-to-confess-to-crime-he-didnt-commit-lawyer/11587147/\u00a0\u2026 via @abc7chicago They— Leslie Ramyk (@Leslie Ramyk) 1645567990
On Monday, the City of Waukegan released the following statement:
"The city is reviewing the case, but cannot make further public comment at this time."
"The city has been in contact with the juvenile's family and their attorney."
Meanwhile, the police have not specifically mentioned taking Williams into custody but said the investigation into the murder of the Dollar General employee was ongoing.