Man exonerated of two rapes by DNA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jackson County prosecutors this week dropped rape charges against an Independence man whose DNA exonerated him despite two sexual assault victims picking him out as their attacker.

Deangilo Minor, then 19, was arrested June 6 as he was riding his bike to his grandmother's birthday party in Kansas City. When he approached a group of police officers, the 40-year-old woman they were interviewing pointed and said, "That's him!"

He was arrested and charged with attempted rape and attempted sodomy. The victim escaped but not before she was hit in the head with a brick.

The nature of the alleged crime was similar to the May 24 rape of another woman in the neighborhood, who was also hit in the head with a brick. When police showed the woman Minor's picture in a photo lineup, she picked him out.

Minor was charged with rape, sodomy, robbery and assault in that case and Minor's DNA was sent off to match against semen found at the scene.

Prosecutors released Minor on March 21 when the test results came back showing that Minor's DNA didn't match the semen found at the scene of the May 24 rape. Instead, it matched another 20-year-old man found in a felon database.

Authorities didn't dismiss the charges until this week after another DNA test showed that blood found on Minor's pants at the time of his arrest was his own.

Ross said the case shows something experts have known for years -- eyewitnesses can be unreliable.