Cousins Held For Almost Four Years Without Trial On Trumped Up Charges - Rape, Kidnapping

In early 1994, two men violently robbed, kidnapped, and carjacked an Oakland couple. The victims were forced into their own trunk, driven around to ATMs for the purpose of withdrawing cash (which was unsuccessful), and brought to a clearing in the hills only to see the male violently beaten, tased and forced back into the trunk before the female was violently raped. With no expectation but being buried alive, the couple was released. In the short time it took for someone who lived nearby to allow the couple to call the police, the two men disappeared.

Over fifteen years later, Dewayne Ewing and Kevin Barnes are being accused of the crime and have been in jail for the past three years without trial. While the charges are serious, there is little, if any, evidence against them.

Police investigators found four major pieces of evidence. First, photos were taken of the assailants by ATM machines. Second, fingerprints collected from the scene of the crime which do not match the victims are assumed to be those of the assailants. Third, the rape kit, which was collected within a few hours of the couple’s release, found the semen of two men, which are from one of the assailants and her husband. Lastly, a used condom was found near the scene of the rape.

The ATM photos show skin tones and facial structures which do not match those of Ewing or Barnes. The fingerprints are also unhelpful, as they give no match. It’s the combination of the second and third pieces of evidence which make the case especially peculiar.

The rape victim told police and doctors that her assailants did not use condoms during the rape, and the semen from her rape kit appears not to have been matched to Ewing or Barnes. Semen found in the condom was matched to Ewing. However, the condom was found at the scene of the rape, which is a public space—a clearing in the Oakland hills—where Ewing says he went with his girlfriend completely separately from this crime. There is a clear discrepancy between the DNA match and the victim’s account of the rape.

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