Ex-officer guilty of perjury, obstruction for role in wrongful murder conviction case

A jury convicted a former Philadelphia homicide detective for assaulting a suspect to obtain a confession and then lying about it in court.

James Pitts was found guilty of obstruction and perjury on Tuesday.

Pitts was accused of assaulting Obina Onyiah in 2010, which resulted in Onyiah confessing to a robbery and murder of William Glatz at a jewelry store, which he did not commit.

Onyiah's conviction was vacated in 2021 after evidence showed he could not have committed the crime.

Pitts is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4.

According to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, this is the first time in the city's history that a Philadelphia detective has been found guilty of coercing a confession that led to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person.

"My administration will continue to seek evenhanded justice in all cases prosecuted by this office, regardless of the defendant, because no one is above the law," said DA Larry Krasner.