Evidence could lead to Emmanuel Spann walking free of the first-degree murder charge in the killing of DeMarcus Chew

The man who was convicted of first-degree murder in the Sept. 10, 2017, killing DeMarcus Chew may walk free based on new information.

Just hours after the jurors overseeing the first-degree murder trial of Emmanuel Spann came back with a guilty verdict, his attorneys were notified Antoine Spann, one of the state's key witnesses and a codefendant in the crime, had told people on a phone call from prison he lied in court.

“Antoine lied, made up the story, and was only doing so to curry favor and a favorable deal with the state," the motion put forward by Emmanuel Spann's defense reads.

Attorneys for Emmanuel Spann argued on Friday in front of District Judge Michael Schilling the defendant's conviction should be overturned, or at the very least that a new trial should be ordered because they were not notified of this evidence when the state first learned of it.

In the phone call, Antoine Spann said Derrick Parker, another man who pleaded guilty to his role in Chew's death, was the person who committed the shooting. Defense attorneys said this contradicts the state's theory Ceasar Davison committed the crime and that, if Davison did not commit the crime, Emmanuel Spann could not have aided Davison in the crime.

According to both attorneys for Emmanuel Spann and Des Moines County Attorney Lisa Schaefer, Schaefer was notified the conversation had taken place on the morning of Feb. 7, when the jury already had begun deliberating.

Schaefer said she did not receive a copy of the phone call until Feb. 10, because she had to wait for the phone call to come from Clarinda Correctional Facility, where Antoine Spann is being held.

Both parties agreed this call was not made available until several hours after the jury delivered their verdict.

Earlier that day, Schaefer had forwarded an email containing the call to John Rigg, the defense attorney for Davison. Schaefer said she had been told only that the call related to Davison and did not know the call related to Emmanuel Spann until she listened to it after the verdict was read.

"The standard makes no distinction as to whether the state acted in good faith or in bad faith," attorney Andrea Jaeger said during the motion hearing.

Jaeger argued that even though the evidence was discovered as the jury was deliberating, there is precedent to stop the deliberations for a jury to hear new evidence that becomes available after they are dismissed to deliberate the case.

The defense argued both in court and in their motion that the evidence could have been used to aid in Emmanuel Spann's defense and would have changed the way they argued the case substantially. They also said it may have changed the jury's verdict.

However, Schaefer disagreed. Schaefer argued the call should be considered a prior inconsistent statement and should not be viewed as new evidence. She also said even if the new evidence was to be admitted, it would not have changed the view in the case. Though Jaeger argued that even if the statements could have been used only to cast doubt on Antoine Spann's testimony, it is still grounds to overturn the verdict.

Schaefer also said statements made on the call were more of the nature that Antoine Spann said he was going to say he lied, not that he actually lied. However, according to the motion by the defense, Antoine Spann said Emmanuel Spann "didn't (sic) do nothin'".

Emmanuel Spann is one of five men who were charged with killing Chew. Three others — Antoine Spann, Parker and Andre Harris, took plea deals that resulted in Antoine Spann receiving 20 years in prison and Parker and Harris both receiving 15 years. Davison received 15 years after his conviction.

Schilling did not rule on the motion on Friday. He will have three options in his ruling: he may issue an arrest of judgement, resulting in Emmanuel Spann walking free, order a new trial, or deny the motion.

He said he likely will issue a ruling sometime in the next two weeks.

"This is not your typical motion," Schilling said at the conclusion of the hearing. "This is a lot more complicated."

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Emmanuel Spann Defense says Antoine Spanns lies should lead to new trial