Man whose 2010 murder conviction was thrown out released on bond Friday

A man whose 2010 murder conviction was "based on lies," according to one of his attorneys, was released on bond Friday.

Marcus Sapp saw that conviction thrown out earlier this month.

At a hearing Friday morning in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Judge Jody Luebbers set bond for Sapp − who remains charged with crimes including aggravated murder − at $50,000. He was released from jail shortly before 2 p.m., one of his attorneys, Marty Pinales, told The Enquirer.

"To wait 12 years to have a trial on fair grounds is a long time to wait," Luebbers told Sapp, who sat at a table with Pinales and another of his attorneys, Eric Eckes, as well as Mark Godsey of the Ohio Innocence Project. "There was evidence that should have been disclosed to the defense that was not."

Luebbers said she wants the new trial to happen as soon as possible. That date is expected to be set next week.

Sapp will live with his aunt and uncle in Symmes Township, according to his attorneys. His uncle is an assistant superintendent for Princeton schools.

Ohio Innocence Project investigated case

The case against Sapp, who was incarcerated for more than 13 years, started to unravel in recent years, after the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law began looking into it.

Sapp, 36, was found guilty in 2010 of charges including murder and assault in an Oakley home invasion, during which Andrew Cunningham was killed. Cunningham's roommate, then-23-year-old Tyler Irvine, was able to run away. The same jury acquitted him of separate murder charges. He was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.

But the case against Sapp in the Oakley homicide, according to his attorneys, was almost entirely based on Irvine identifying him as one of two gunmen. The jury never heard that Irvine had initially identified another man as one of the assailants. Neither Sapp's attorneys nor prosecutors were given that information by Cincinnati police.

Eckes said in court Friday that "agents of the government cheated in this case − there's just no other way to put it."

The lead detective on the case, Eckes said, lied on the witness stand, when he testified that Irvine had only identified Sapp.

In fact, Irvine initially identified and named another man as one of the assailants, and police amassed evidence against that man.

Longtime Assistant Prosecutor David Prem, who was involved in the prosecution of Sapp, told Luebbers Friday that he would have turned over that information to the defense, if police had given it to him.

Still, Prem said that Irvine, "expressed no doubt" when he identified Sapp in a live police lineup as one of the gunmen.

And when Irvine testified at the 2010 trial, according to Prem, he "never wavered from this is the man who did it."

Prem said he talked to Irvine recently.

"I asked him, 'Can you still say that you feel confident Mr. Sapp was the person who committed this crime?'" Prem told Luebbers. "He said, 'Yes, there is no doubt in my mind.'"

Earlier this month, on Jan. 10, Luebbers threw out Sapp's convictions.

Judge: Under law, Sapp considered innocent

On Friday, in a courtroom packed with Sapp's family and supporters as well as family members of the victims, Luebbers said her job was not to weigh the evidence. Instead, she said her job was to set a bond that is appropriate for the "unusual" circumstances of the case.

Bond, she said, is necessary to ensure Sapp returns to court for all future hearings and to ensure the safety of the community.

She noted that Sapp, during his time in prison, had "almost no infractions."

And she said, because his convictions were thrown out, he is considered innocent, under the law.

Eckes noted that Sapp's mother's 69th birthday is Saturday.

"If we're able to get bond today," Eckes said, "he'll be able to be there for her birthday."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man whose 2010 murder conviction was thrown out released on bond