EVIDENCE OF TONY HUNTER'S ACTUAL INNOCENCE

By Admin

Tony Hunter was convicted of murder and attempted robbery with no eyewitness, DNA, fibers, or ties to the murder weapon.  This case needs to be properly investigated. There is not one piece of evidence found at the crime scene that supports Tony’s conviction or links him to the crime or crime scene. Tony's conviction was secured solely on 3 convicts’ testimonies which were based upon them “overhearing” Tony speaking to Glen Nelson while Tony was locked up in the Ouachita Correctional Center.  

Police contacted the truck rental agency alleging Tony's rental truck was used in a murder and a warrant was issued for Tony's arrest because his credit card was declined for the monthly recurring truck rental charge.  Jailhouse informants Vaccarra Comanche, Clarence Kennedy, and Christopher Wiggins were facing serious jail time and decided to frame Tony for a triple murder. With no money to bond out of jail, their motive was to get a shorter sentence from the prosecutors. 

These informants had much to gain and little to lose by testifying falsely. New evidence has come to light since Tony’s conviction that shows his complete innocence, including an affidavit from Glen Nelson admitting it was a jailhouse scam to get help from the District Attorney’s office for their cases. The affidavit also affirms that Tony and Glen Nelson were enemies and have never discussed the crime. 

Additionally, Christopher Wiggins confessed to an investigator in 2014 that he gave false testimony against Tony Hunter for a sentence reduction. This overwhelming evidence proves that Tony is innocent and wrongfully imprisoned. The fact is that Tony should never have been convicted in the first place because the witnesses in his case were never credible, and made inconsistent statements. The jury rendered a guilty verdict without any evidence and with 3 convicts’ stories that did not match the crime scene or one another's statements. The jury also did not know the witnesses were career criminals and snitches, that they received a deal, that Nelson had tried to murder Tony less than 3 months before, and that Clarence Kennedy had framed Tony years earlier.  

Tony Hunter has consistently maintained his innocence since his arrest on May 4, 2001. And his story has never wavered. What has been done to Mr. Hunter is a travesty of justice. Tony, his children, grandchildren, and mother are the true victims here.

Evidence of Tony Hunter’s Actual Innocence that the Jury did not Know or Hear:

Glen Nelson has come forward and admitted that the idea to implicate Tony Hunter in an unsolved triple homicide was a jailhouse conning scheme created by Nelson, Vaccarra Comanche, and Clarence Kennedy.  Their motive was to get a conviction against their common enemy, Tony Hunter, in an effort to incur favor from the Ouachita District attorney’s Office concerning their Legal Matters. (See Exhibit A, Glen Nelson’s affidavit:  Judge’s document labeling Nelson a jailhouse con artist, pp. 1831-32).

The bad blood between Nelson and Hunter began on December 30, 2000, when Nelson shot at Hunter, just a little over two (2) months before the murders.  Officer D. Baugh of the Monroe City Police Department filed a report reflecting that Nelson shot at Hunter, an unarmed citizen, before the triple homicide occurred.  (See Exhibit B, Police Report).

Suggestions by jailhouse informants that Nelson and Hunter acted in collusion to kill three people is unreasonable.  It is also absurd to believe Hunter would enter into discussion about committing murder with a person who had already made an attempt to murder him.

Glen Nelson showed his ability to manipulate the State’s intelligence by implicating Hunter in a Roderick Hall murder with his false allegations of Hunter’s involvement.  (See Exhibit C, News article).

Since the early nineties, Nelson had a reputation for being a snitch.  Nelson is known for implicating inmates in homicides whenever he is detained by detectives.  (See State v. Hill, 601 So.2d; Exhibit D).

The triple homicide occurred on March 10, 2001.  Hunter was arrested on May 4, 2001, for failure to return a leased movable he rented to get back and forth to work. The leasing company contacted Hunter and said they would take the payment out of the bank check for the declined credit card charge. Then the police told the leasing company they suspected the vehicle was involved in a homicide which they used as an excuse to detain Hunter (See Exhibit E, Hunter’s arrest, and employment history).  While detained at Ouachita Correctional Center, Hunter was implicated by Glen Nelson and arrested for the Roderick Hall homicides on June 6, 2001, but was never indicted or charged.

On June 12, 2001, with no evidence to support arresting Hunter for the triple homicide, detectives had KTVE air on television that Hunter’s arrest for the Roderick Hall homicide had a possible connection with the triple homicide (See Exhibit F, KTVE Television Report).  The report highlights the personal vendettas of detectives against Hunter.  It was the detectives’ action that made Hunter a specific target for the public and inmates alike to implicate him for murders he did not commit.

Detectives placed Hunter on television persuading and motivating inmates to fabricate lies about Tony Hunter in the triple homicide.  The inmates claim to have heard Tony Hunter confess to the triple homicide after seeing KTVE air on television June 12, 2001, that Hunter had possible connections with the triple homicide.  (See Exhibit G, Dates inmates gave their statements and their statements confirming their access to newspaper and television.)

Detective David Harris testified about his interview with Nelson at Hunter’s bond reduction hearing.  Detective Harris said that Nelson told him that he and Hunter were not friends.  He confirmed that Nelson and Hunter had a shoot-out and said that Nelson told him that he did not know anything about a murder.  (See Exhibit H).

Even though convict statements placed Nelson as the scene of the crimes, Nelson was never indicted for the triple homicide and was released from prison on the Roderick Hall homicide.  The State knew that detectives had threatened Nelson and further promised the con man that he would go home if he helped them build a case against Hunter.  (See Exhibit I, News-Star page).

Basic Facts:

• No Eyewitnesses exist to the crimes.

• No Physical or DNA Evidence connects Tony Hunter to the crime scene.

• The murder weapon was never connected to Tony Hunter in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

• No hairs, fibers, blood, fingerprints, or anything of the victims were found in the vehicle Tony Hunter was allegedly driving at the time of the murders.

• The Gene Screen performed on articles of clothing from Tony Hunter’s residence did not match the DNA of the victims, or the crime scene.

Jailhouse witness Christopher Wiggins testified that Hunter told him that he committed the crimes of killing Mr. Williams on the couch.  The evidence at trial clearly showed that there apparently had been a gun battle and that Mr. Williams was shot in the back south rear bedroom and had nothing to do with the couch.   Mr. Wiggins even admitted on the witness stand that Hunter never talked to him about his business.  No evidence exists to corroborate Wiggins testimony.  Christopher Wiggins, a five time looser, is a career criminal, convicted of murder, burglary, simple robbery, forgery, was charged with second degree murder which was plead down to manslaughter.  During an interview with Christopher Wiggins on March 27, 2014 he offered to testify that at no time did Hunter confess to his involvement in the homicides.  He claims that his attorney and prosecutors promised a reduction of his sentence for forgery and probation violation for his testimony, but they did not hold up on their promise and he was very upset about that.