There were many drug-related killings in Detroit in the 1980s as crack cocaine swept the nation. One of the most consequential homicides had significant effects on the Michigan criminal justice system yet it went mostly unnoticed at the time. The victim was Damion Lucas, a 13-year old Detroit boy. The boy died on a kitchen floor while his terrified 11-year old brother pleaded with a 911 operator for help. The Detroit Police “investigation” of the killing was a cover-up from the get-go. It was politically-motivated obstruction of justice.
The Damion Lucas homicide is one of the most important chapters in my book, “Prisoner of War: The Story of White Boy Rick and the War on Drugs.” (See Chapter 8—A Child is Slain, A Cop Is Bribed.)
Police Drug Corruption Exposed
The death of the little boy ultimately exposed police and political corruption in Detroit as a toxic by-product of the failed War on Drugs. In basic terms, Damion Lucas was inadvertently killed by members of the Johnny Curry drug gang who used automatic weapons to shoot up the home of the little boy’s uncle in a drug dispute. They didn’t know two youngsters were in the house. One of the 20-odd shots killed Damion. The Detroit Police immediately launched a cover-up fake investigation by attempting to frame an innocent man. They did so to protect Johnny Curry, who was married to Cathy Volsan, the niece of Detroit’s powerful mayor, Coleman Young. Johnny Curry later admitted to FBI agents that he paid Gil Hill, the Inspector in charge of the homicide section, $10-thousand dollars to divert the investigation of the Damion Lucas case away from his drug operation.
“Who Killed Damion Lucas?” is a featured segment of the Crimetown podcast series on crime in Detroit in the 1980s. It borrows a title I used in 1988 for a five-part TV news series on the case. Crimetown, now in its second season, is an audio podcast that profiles crime in major U.S. cities, one city per season. This season, which began in October, is focused on Detroit.
(Image: WXYZ-TV)
Host and narrator Drew Nelles recounts how the late Gil Hill, the head of Detroit Police homicide at the time and later Detroit’s City Council president, directed the investigation of the Damion Lucas killing away from the Curry drug gang with the help of a generous bribe from Johnny Curry. Nelles interviewed Curry about the incident. Curry bobbed and weaved and ducked giving a straight answer when Nelles asked him if he bribed Hill to keep the investigation away from his drug operation.
The White Boy Rick Connection
Richard “White Boy Rick” Wershe played an important role in the case. Even though he was only 15-years old at the time, Wershe had infiltrated the Curry drug gang as a paid informer for the FBI. He was present when two members of the Curry gang admitted they inadvertently killed the youngster. Wershe passed this on to the FBI, which had just started wiretapping Johnny Curry’s home phone. The FBI reviewed their tapes and found Johnny Curry confirming much of what Wershe had told them. Johnny Curry, it should be noted, was not involved in the Damion Lucas homicide. Indeed, he was upset that his gang members had shot up the home of the boy’s uncle and killed the kid. He can be heard on FBI court-authorized wiretaps saying it was a “dumb-ass move.” Nevertheless, Curry apparently had no problem bribing a police command officer to obstruct justice to protect his drug operation. The Damion Lucas homicide has never been prosecuted even though law enforcement and prosecutors know who killed him.
For those who are fond of podcasts, Crimetown’s “Who Killed Damion Lucas?” is a half-hour well spent.
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