Stanley Mozee

The Crime

In the early morning hours of April 7, 1999, the body of the Reverend Jesse Borns Jr. was found in the hallway of his business, J.B. Jezco Enterprises, located in a strip mall in Dallas.

Mr. Borns, who was 70 years old, had been stabbed or cut nearly 50 times. A bloody ball-peen hammer was found nearby. 

The Investigation

Mr. Borns sold leather goods, pagers, and wooden clocks, and occasionally hosted seminars on money management. He had been released from prison in 1997 after serving 15 years of a 40-year sentence for fatally shooting a member of his former church. He maintained that the shooting was an accident. However, after his release from prison, he received death threats. A review of his finances showed he was $15,000 to $20,000 in debt. Although $250 in cash was still in his wallet, his credit cards were missing.

Mr. Borns’ wife, Margie, told police that he called her around 5:30 p.m. the night before. He told her he was hosting a seminar at 8 p.m. and would not be home until later. He said he would not be coming home to change out of his work clothes because he had a set of dress clothes in his van. She said she called the store around 8 p.m. to say goodnight but there was no answer. When she awoke at 3 a.m. and he was not home, she called a friend. The friend drove her to the store where they found the door unlocked, the lights on, and his body in the hallway. A cellular phone and a box of pagers were missing.

Although the office was set up for the seminar, Mr. Borns was still in his work clothes, which he wore because, during the day, he had been remodeling the back rooms of the building. He planned to lease the space out to other businesses.

A police canvass of the area turned up no eyewitnesses to the crime. However, witnesses did report seeing two men—one tall and one short—arguing with Mr. Borns around 6 p.m. on the day before his body was found. Witnesses also reported that the men had tried to sell apparently stolen pagers around 10 p.m.

The shorter of the two men was described as having a distinctive scar across the side of his neck. The taller man was described as having “deep wrinkles” on his face.

The crime went unsolved for weeks, as Crime Stoppers flyers were circulated. Detectives learned that Mr. Borns’ stolen credit cards had been used at several businesses on April 7, the day his body was found.

Video surveillance from an EZ Mart showed two men—one taller than the other—in a store at 1:38 a.m. when one of the cards was used. Alvin Degraftenreed viewed the video and told police the men appeared to be the same two men he saw arguing with Mr. Borns outside Mr. Borns’ store. Another witness viewed the video and identified the short man as Daniel Jennings. Other witnesses said the taller man was Darryl Adkins. Although a search warrant was executed at Mr. Adkins’ home, he and Mr. Jennings were eliminated as suspects.

In late June 1999, Dallas Police Detective Richard Berry, the lead investigator on the case, shifted his focus to 39-year-old Stanley Mozee and 36-year-old Dennis Allen, two homeless men who battled drug problems and performed odd jobs in the neighborhood.

Detective Berry later testified that he had received tips from people on the street, although none of those tipsters was ever called to testify. On July 15, Detective Berry wrote out an affidavit that was signed by Cynthia Sloan, a sex worker with a drug addiction, which said that Ms. Sloan had heard Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen talk about committing the crime. She said Mr. Allen admitted that he was present while Mr. Mozee stabbed Mr. Borns. She said Mr. Allen described taking “a little money bag,” although $250 had been found in Mr. Borns’ wallet. She made no mention of the box of pagers and a cellular phone that was taken.

Detective Berry brought Mr. Allen and Mr. Mozee in for questioning. Mr. Allen denied involvement in the crime and was released. On three occasions, Detective Berry interrogated Mr. Mozee, who had been diagnosed with mental disorders, including schizophrenia and depression. The final interrogation was on July 22, 1999, when Detective Berry said that Mr. Mozee signed a confession admitting that he and Mr. Allen’s girlfriend, Felicia Shaw, acted as lookouts while Mr. Allen went into the store to rob Mr. Borns and wound up killing him.

Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were arrested and charged with capital murder. Ms. Shaw was never charged or called as a witness. Both men were about the same height — 6 feet— and neither man had a scar on his neck or deep wrinkles on his face.

The Trials

The men were tried separately. On July 31, 2000, Mr. Mozee went to trial in Dallas County Criminal District Court. The prosecution called Ms. Sloan, who testified that she had overheard Mr. Allen and Mr. Mozee talking about the crime.

Zane Smith testified that while he was in jail, he heard Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen confess to committing the murder. Mr. Smith said Mr. Mozee told him that he was going to fake mental illness to disavow his confession. Under questioning by Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Rick Jackson, Mr. Smith denied that he ever sought favorable treatment, that he was offered favorable treatment, or that he had received favorable treatment on his pending charges in return for his testimony.

Using the technology then available, the prosecution had microscopically examined and conducted DNA tests and fingerprint analyses on numerous items from the crime scene — including blood stains on the floor and molding near Mr. Borns’ body, and fingerprints throughout the store. However, no evidence was found that linked Mr. Mozee or Mr. Allen to the scene. Both men were excluded as the source of all fingerprints recovered that were suitable for comparison, including those from the display case from which pagers had been taken. A hair fragment found under one of Mr. Borns’ fingernails and the bloody hammer were not examined.

Detective Berry testified that “all three store clerks” at three locations, including the EZ Mart, a Dollar Plaza, and Scotties Drive-in, had identified Mr. Allen as the man who attempted to use Mr. Borns’ stolen credit cards in the hours after the murder. None of the clerks were called as witnesses.

Detective Berry also testified that Mr. Mozee was calm, lucid, and sober when he confessed. Detective Berry denied threatening Mr. Mozee but did say he told Mr. Mozee that the case could potentially carry the death penalty.

Charles Manning, a homeless person with a drug addiction at the time of the crime whom Mr. Borns allowed to sleep in the back of his store, testified that he knew nothing about the crime, but he did know that Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen hung out together. 

Mr. Mozee testified and denied that he, Mr. Allen, and Ms. Shaw were involved. Mr. Mozee said that at the time he signed the statement, he was intoxicated on both drugs and alcohol, had not slept, and had run out of his psychiatric medications prior to the final interrogation. Mr. Mozee said the details in the confession were fed to him by Detective Berry. 

The confession differed from the version outlined in Mr. Sloan’s affidavit. Mr. Mozee’s statement said he met with Mr. Allen and Ms. Shaw at 9:30 p.m. at a club a few minutes walking distance from Mr. Borns’ store — although a medical examiner concluded that Mr. Borns was killed prior to 8 p.m. The confession said Mr. Allen confronted Mr. Borns in his office where he stabbed Mr. Borns to death and dragged him into the hall. But no blood was found in the office and there were no signs that a bloody body had been dragged into the hall.

On Aug. 2, 2000, the jury convicted Mr. Mozee of capital murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Mr. Allen went to trial a few weeks later. Ms. Sloan and Mr. Smith again testified that they heard him admit involvement in the crime.

Assistant District Attorney Jackson also called Lonel Hardeman, who said that Mr. Allen had confessed to Mr. Hardeman that Mr. Allen had been involved in the crime. Like Mr. Smith, Mr. Hardeman also denied asking for, being promised, or receiving any leniency for his testimony. 

John Robinson, another person in jail, testified that Mr. Allen told him he committed the crime with a “dope fiend and his girl,” and that the dope fiend “messed up” and “stabbed the dude.” Mr. Robinson claimed that Mr. Allen told him he threw the weapon used to stab Mr. Borns — “a letter opener or a tool”—on the roof of Mr. Borns’ store or the store next door. Prior to the trial, police had searched the roofs of both buildings. They recovered a steak knife on the roof of Mr. Borns’ store, but there was no evidence linking it to the crime.

Samson Tinsaye, a clerk at the EZ Mart whom Detective Perry said had identified Mr. Allen as the taller of the two men, took the witness stand. When he saw Mr. Allen in court, however, he recanted his identification of the taller man as Mr. Allen. He said he was certain that Mr. Allen was not the man — Mr. Allen was shorter and had much darker skin.

Kenneth Jones, a clerk at a pager store, testified that on April 9, 1999, a man sold him a pager that, when activated, was identified as one of the pagers stolen from Borns’ store. Prior to the trial, Mr. Jones had identified Allen in a photo array as the man who sold him the pager. In court, Mr. Jones again identified him. Prior to his testimony, Mr. Jones had been given probation for possession of five grams of cocaine even though he had a prior drug conviction.

Mr. Degraftenreed identified Mr. Allen as the taller of the two men who were arguing with Mr. Borns at 6 p.m. on the night Mr. Borns was killed. Mr. Degraftenreed said the shorter man was intoxicated and became agitated when Mr. Borns said he would consider giving him a job only if he cleaned himself up. Mr. Degraftenreed said the confrontation was not physical and neither man had threatened Mr. Borns.

Mr. Mozee’s testimony from his trial was read to the jury.

On Sept. 1, 2000, the jury convicted Mr. Allen of capital murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Both men’s convictions were upheld on appeal.

The Exonerations

In 2009, the Innocence Project and the Innocence Project of Texas, working with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), began re-investigating the case. They submitted more than two dozen items of physical evidence for DNA testing.

Tests on a drop of blood near the front of the store revealed a mixture of Mr. Borns’ blood and the blood of an unidentified person. Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were excluded. The hair fragments found under Mr. Borns’ fingernail were found to have DNA that was not from Mr. Borns. Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were again excluded.

The blood-stained hammer was tested. Mr. Borns’ DNA was found on the ball end of the tool, while blood found on the handle was not from Mr. Borns. Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were excluded as the source of that blood.

Due to the different DNA testing methods used, there was no way to determine if the unidentified profiles were from the same person. The profiles were not suitable for submission to the FBI DNA database.

When the prosecution opened up the trial file maintained by Assistant District Attorney  Jackson, a vast assortment of documents, including letters and police reports, was discovered that was never disclosed to the defense lawyers for Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen.

These documents included reports showing that Detective Berry falsely claimed in a sworn affidavit and in court that “all three” of the clerks from the stores had identified Mr. Allen. In fact, there had been five clerks. One had identified someone else and the other said she could not identify anyone.

The file contained voluminous correspondence from Mr. Hardeman and Mr. Smith— the jailhouse informants— asking for leniency, asking when the prosecution would fulfill its promises of leniency, and detailing how both men got reduced sentences after their testimony.

In 2014, Mr. Hardeman and Mr. Smith were interviewed. Both recanted their testimony implicating Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen, and both admitted they had lied when they said they had not sought or received benefits from the prosecution. Both said they had lied because they wanted favorable treatment in their own cases. 

In September 2014, lawyers for Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen filed a 109-page state law petition for a writ habeas corpus to vacate their convictions. The petition outlined the failure of the prosecution to disclose “a staggering array of exculpatory evidence that had never before been disclosed.” The petition accused Detective Berry of falsely testifying, manipulating evidence, and hiding evidence. It also accused Assistant District Attorney  Jackson of knowingly allowing witnesses to testify falsely, as well as arguing evidence that he knew was false.

On Oct. 28, 2014, the prosecution agreed to the motion. The judge recommended to the Texas Court of Criminal appeals that the petition be granted. Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were freed on bond.

The petition was then forwarded to the Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2015 and in 2016, the court twice remanded the writ requesting further investigation and findings. During that time, the CIU and Innocence Project developed more evidence. Mr. Robinson recanted his testimony and admitted it was a lie. Other evidence was discovered showing how Detective Berry and Assistant District Attorney Jackson repeatedly worked to keep informants who had been accused of probation violations from being incarcerated. 

In March 2017, Dallas Criminal District Court Judge Everett Young adopted a 63-page finding and conclusion jointly submitted by the CIU and lawyers for Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen. In January 2018, the Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the findings in full, granted the writs and ordered a new trial. In May and June 2018, Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen took polygraph examinations. The examiner said both men were truthful when they denied any involvement in the crime.

On May 10, 2019, the Dallas County District Attorney dismissed the charges. Mr. Mozee and Mr. Allen were granted certificates of innocence, clearing the way for them to seek compensation from the state of Texas. Allen and Mozee were each awarded state compensation of $1,226,666 in September 2019. In 2021, Assistant District Attorney Jackson was disbarred for his misconduct in the case.