Court Acquits Emeka Ezera of Larceny

After only 45 minutes of testimony from the plaintiff and arresting officer, a Boston district court judge yesterday acquitted Emeka Ezera '81 of larceny of person.

Ezera left the courtroom with a clenched fist held high a midst a standing-room only crowd after the announcement of the verdict.

"The trial represented a stripping of students from their cocoon of middle class isolation. The trial was a rude awakening to the blatant racism inherent in the American judicial system." Ezera said after he left the courtroom. He added that he was pleased with the student support.

"I'm very happy with the verdict, but it wasn't me. It was the people who came to court." Winston Kendall, Ezera's attorney, said after the trial. He added that with the "not guilty" verdict, the arrest would not appear on Ezera's record.

The trial, scheduled to begin yesterday morning, met several delays because of attorney changes in the prosecution. The district attorney's office regularly assigns cases to lawyers the afternoon before a trial, Edward M. Burns, the prosecuting attorney said yesterday following the trial.

Change of Cast

"This is a relatively minor charge and not considered as serious as other cases," Burns said, adding that the number of "alibi witnesses" for Ezera's defense prompted the switch "to a more experienced attorney."

The delays subsequently resulted in a postponement, which moved the case from the docket of Judge Harry P. Elam, a Black judge, to the afternoon session under Judge Charles Grabau, a white judge.

The plaintiff, Joan McGaw, testified during the afternoon session that, as she stepped onto a Green Line train headed for Boylston St., the coat hanger end of a man's garment bag snagged her clothes.

She added that the man got off the train at Park St. and the doors closed. She said she then noticed her purse was gone.

Under questioning from the prosecution, McGaw said she told Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) police the man was "5 feet 9 inches, wore a black knitted cap and that he was Black and that's about all I said," adding that she did not discuss his build.

The next day while waiting for a train, McGaw said she saw the same man standing in the crowd waiting for a train. She went to the information booth and pointed him out to the officer. After police arrested the man she said she saw, McGaw said she told police twice, "Yes, I was certain."

She added that she had seen the man in the hallway the day of the arraignment and "I saw him in the courtroom before lunch recess."

"Do you see that person now?" Burns asked.

"I saw him earlier today," she answered.

When the prosecution pointed at Ezera and asked her if that was the man she said, "I'm not sure."

Plenty of Chances

The arresting officer testified that he asked the plaintiff if she were sure beyond the shadow of a doubt and she said she was sure. "She was absolutely certain," he said.

The officer called Ezera's reaction to questions after the arrest "unresponsive" but added that Ezera did not "out and out refuse to identify himself."

Asked if Ezera produced any identification, the officer said, "He produced something from his wallet with a name and something with Harvard on it--I don't recall what."

The prosecution made a motion that charged the defense with "switching defendants" to confuse the plaintiff. The judge asked both attorneys to approach the bench, after which the bailiff announced the verdict.

Burns said after the trial he felt he "had a chance to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt" that Ezera was guilty. "The victim had positively identified the defendant twice before the trial without having him pointed out to her," he added.

Kendall said after the verdict, "She didn't identify him. What else is there to say?"

Ezera said, "During the trial I felt as though someone were out to get me.