Teen's Case Dropped After Evidence Altered

Detective Corrected Address in Confession

Prince George's County prosecutors dropped burglary charges Monday against a Suitland teenager after a defense attorney pointed out that the defendant's alleged written confession had been altered by a police detective to correct the address of the apartment where the crime took place.

Circuit Court Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. Nichols dismissed the charges against Quadari I. McClendon, 15, at the request of Assistant State's Attorney Carolyn Saxon.

McClendon, who is charged with attempted murder and carjacking in an unrelated case, had been accused of breaking into an apartment in the District Heights area in September 2008.

On Oct. 15, county police Detective James Seger obtained a statement from McClendon. A copy of that handwritten statement showed that McClendon wrote that he "broke into Apt #C-1" and stole three pairs of jeans and two shirts.

When she was preparing for the trial this month, Assistant Public Defender Erin Josendale noticed that a copy of McClendon's statement was different from a copy she had received in November. She noticed that "Apt #C-1" had been altered, by hand, to read "Apt#B-1," which is where the break-in occurred. Also, the address of the building where the break-in had occurred had been changed, from 6916 Walker Mill Rd. in the earlier statement to 6936 Walker Mill Rd., the location of the break-in.

Efforts to reach Seger were unsuccessful. A recording at his office said his voice mail had not been set up.

State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said he asked police this month to review Seger's actions in obtaining the statement. Maj. Andy Ellis, a police spokesman, said supervisors found that Seger had made an honest mistake.

After taking the statement, Seger made a copy of it, and noticed that the apartment number and address provided by McClendon were wrong, Ellis said. Seger corrected the numbers without asking McClendon to initial the corrections, as he should have, Ellis said.

"It's a training issue, not an integrity issue," Ellis said. He said Seger will not be disciplined for the matter, and continues to work as a detective.

David Gray, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, said prosecutors made "absolutely the correct" decision in dropping the burglary charges.

"We don't want prosecutors to pursue justice at all costs," Gray said. "They can't be seen as condoning the alteration of evidence by law enforcement. This didn't appear to have a great impact -- it's not like they planted a bloody glove -- but this is exactly the sort of situation where a prosecutor wants to avoid the appearance of impropriety."