Blakely says he knew Mosby was suspect in 2000 Sikeston killing

Sikeston's lead detective identified but chose not to pursue as a suspect the man who later confessed to the 2000 killing of a Sikeston, Missouri, woman, the detective testified Thursday.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety detective John Blakely testified he learned Sikeston man Romanze Mosby may have been involved in the crime but did not investigate further before another man, David Robinson, stood trial in 2001.

Robinson was convicted of shooting 36-year-old Sheila Box due largely to now-recanted eyewitness testimony and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Blakely also testified Thursday there is no direct evidence linking Robinson to the crime.

In 2004, Mosby confessed on tape to killing Box.

Robinson maintains his innocence. His conviction is being reviewed by a Special Master appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Detective John Blakely of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety exits the Jefferson County Courthouse after testifying Thursday in Hillsboro, Missouri.Laura Simon ~ Southeast Missourian

Before Robinson's trial, then-Scott County sheriff's deputy Bobby Sullivan testified he told Blakely and other Sikeston DPS investigators about Mosby after receiving a tip Mosby was the shooter. Sullivan also said he investigated Mosby only after the Sikeston detectives did nothing with the information.

Blakely contradicted Sullivan's account in 2015 when he testified Mosby emerged as a suspect only after Robinson was convicted.

"That would have been followed up on if we would have received that information," Blakely testified in 2015, denying three times he knew Mosby was a suspect before trial.

Thursday, Blakely said Mosby was a suspect before trial, but he could not recall speaking with Sullivan directly.

"I know the name (Romanze Mosby) had come up," Blakely said.

While he said he didn't pursue Mosby in the Box case because the sheriff's department was "already investigating," Blakely was investigating Mosby in another shooting at the same time.

He also briefly investigated Mosby when, after Box was killed, her stepson was shot in what police suspected was a drug deal gone wrong.

Blakely did, however, follow up on another tip from Sullivan regarding Jason Richison, who testified against Robinson at trial.

Blakely testified he was unaware Richison was a paranoid schizophrenic and had no reason to suspect Richison's credibility, despite the fact Richison's claim to have been Robinson's cellmate was proven untrue.

Richison, who since has recanted, claimed to have heard Robinson boasting in his cell about killing Box.

Robinson's attorney Charles Weiss asked the detective why, when he had the opportunity to question two men who actually shared Robinson's cell, he failed to do so.

"Wouldn't a good detective do that?" Weiss asked.

"I would think so, yes, sir," Blakely said.

"But you didn't do that?" Weiss continued.

"No, sir," Blakely answered.

The detective also faced questions about how he handled another witness, Albert Baker.

Baker testified at Robinson's trial he saw Robinson shoot Box but since has risked perjury charges to recant that testimony, claiming police paid him to lie. Baker received numerous payments for "information," according to receipts signed by Blakely, but Blakely said he had no reason to suspect Baker was lying.

Blakely said it was the only case in which he'd ever used witness protection and said all payments would have been approved by his supervisor, but he also said Baker, who was addicted to drugs, was paid in cash, and police made no effort to verify the money went to pay rent or living expenses.

"Typically, we didn't ask [confidential informants] what they needed it for," he said.

Attorneys asked Blakely about several allegations made against him by witnesses in the case.

The accusations include various forms of witness intimidation.

Blakely denied them all.

He also denied giving Baker drugs to help him fool the polygraph test Baker took to convince the prosecuting attorney to bring charges against Robinson.

Blakely said he arranged the test, which Baker passed, to be sure Baker was telling the truth.

"I don't want the wrong person to go to jail for something if they didn't do it," he said.

Robinson, who also testified Thursday, said that's exactly what happened.

He said Blakely, Sikeston detective Dan Armour and then-Captain Mike Williams, who now heads the department, framed him.

Blakely denied framing Robinson.

"Is it true there is no direct evidence connecting David Robinson to this case?" Weiss asked Blakely.

"Yes sir," he replied.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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