Lamonte McIntyre, wrongly convicted in Kansas City, KS murders, seeks $93M in lawsuit
Lamonte McIntyre, who was wrongly convicted of a double murder in 1994, is calling for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas and the detective who investigated the homicides to pay him nearly $93.6 million in damages.
McIntyre, along with his mother Rose McIntyre, filed their lawsuit in 2018 in the U.S. District of Kansas, arguing that the Unified Government and several police officers were responsible for violating their civil rights. A federal judge on Thursday issued an order scheduling a jury trial, estimated to last four weeks, to begin Nov. 7.
Lawyers for McIntyre have argued that former Det. Roger Golubski, a 35-year veteran of Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, was a corrupt cop who used his badge to terrorize many of the city’s Black residents, including the McIntyres. They contend the conviction of McIntyre was a setup orchestrated by Golubski to frame McIntyre and protect a drug organization the ex-cop was tied to, along with other misdeeds.
McIntyre is seeking $72 million for wrongful incarceration, from which his lawyers say he still suffers, along with $1.6 million in lost career opportunities and $20 million in punitive damages. Rose McIntyre, meanwhile, is seeking $30 million. She has accused Golubski of sexually assaulting her and then trying to frame her son because she rebuffed Golubski’s later sexual advances.
Since the lawsuit was filed, the McIntyre’s lawyers say several fellow officers have testified under oath that they knew Golubski frequently had relations with sex workers who he also used as informants. The lawyers say the ultimate goal was to clear homicide cases regardless of “whether that meant framing an innocent person” like McIntyre.
Defense attorneys for Golubski have argued that the arrest and investigative methods used to convict McIntyre met standards of the time. Further, they deny Golubski coerced witnesses or engaged in any criminal activity.
His lawyers also say Golubski intends to defend against arguments made about his character by contending, “that he was a good cop and detective, that he cared about the community he served, particularly the African American community, and that he sought to hold dirty cops accountable.”
McIntyre spent more than 23 years in prison for the slayings of Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing on April 15, 1994. Both were shot dead in broad daylight on a Kansas City, Kansas street as they were sitting in a parked car.
The case against McIntyre relied on eyewitness accounts and testimony that McIntyre’s lawyers contend was coerced by Golubski.
McIntyre, who was 17 years old at the time, always maintained his innocence. He was granted a new trial that ended in October 2017 when the district attorney’s office declined to contest the facts presented by his lawyers.
After he was freed, McIntyre was presented with a certificate of innocence by the state of Kansas. He was also awarded roughly $1.5 million for his wrongful incarceration.
Golubski, 69, retired from the department in 2010 as a police captain. In October, The Star reported that he was the subject of a federal criminal investigation.
The Star’s Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 7:31 PM.
