Hired to represent the city of Ferguson and help officials try to rebuild the city’s image after the police shooting of Michael Brown, Devin James' contract was terminated when the St. Louis Economic Development organization that hired him became aware of his past. James once shot and killed an unarmed man, and was convicted of reckless homicide.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
The incident began when two men, Rodney Steward and Marcus Moffitt, nicknamed “Big D,” showed up at his house to rob him, according an account James provided to Memphis police in 2004.
James said Moffitt had a 9 mm handgun and ordered him to lie down because they were going to rob him, court records show.
James fled to another room to get his own handgun, which he said he bought for protection after being robbed. When they saw his weapon they ran out his back door, according to court records. James chased them, and Moffitt starting shooting. James shot back.
When police arrived they found Steward dead in James’ yard with 2.4 grams of crack cocaine in his pocket. Shelby County’s medical examiner said Steward had been shot eight times.
During James’ trial, a Memphis police sergeant testified that all bullet casings at the scene came from James’ gun. The sergeant returned the next day and found “no evidence of bullet strikes inside or outside the house.”
James said on Thursday “a lot of stuff was not recovered at the time.” He called it a “botched investigation” culminating in a trial before a judge with “prior connections” to his family, including convictions of family members in earlier cases.
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III said that city officials were aware of James' past, and called James' story "inspiring," explaining that he provides city officials with an "invaluable perspective."
It's rather unclear whether or not the city of Ferguson will pick up James' contract, and continue his employment, or if he was indeed fired by city officials as reported by KMOV News.
Devin James was sentenced in 2006 to a total of 90 days in prison and five years probation, which ended in March of this year.