Man convicted in 1991 murder of Philly cop's brother to get a new trial

For four years, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has appealed a judge's decision granting a new trial in a 1991 case that sent a 19-year-old to prison for life in the killing of a police officer's brother.

Although the state Supreme Court was set to hear yet another round of appeals in the case, early last week it decided against hearing it at all.

Now, after nearly 25 years in prison, Jose Medina will again be tried for murder in the death of William Bogan, the brother of Officer Timothy Bogan, who was stabbed to death the evening of Oct. 18, 1991, in a Chinese takeout shop at Cambria and Mutter Streets in Fairhill.

Timothy Bogan, reached Friday at his home, would not comment on the case.

Medina's conviction hinged largely on the testimony of two boys who told police they saw a drunken Medina display an enormous knife and vow to murder someone. One boy said he saw the killing.

The boys, ages 10 and 11 at the time, later recanted their testimony. One said in an affidavit that a detective had handed him a paper and told him he could go home if he signed it. The boy said in the affidavit that he signed the statement, though he could not read.

In a blistering 2011 opinion that ran more than 200 pages, Common Please Court Judge Lisa M. Rau concluded that the boy's testimony had been coerced, vacated the conviction, and ordered a retrial.

Rau pointed out that the prosecution did not present a motive for the killing, did not have the murder weapon or blood evidence, and did not establish a relationship between the two men.

Furthermore, Medina, who lived in Reading and was in town for a family birthday party when the slaying happened, had no previous criminal record.

Prosecutors have argued that Medina's petition to the court was not timely and that he has not proved that the recantations - "among the weakest forms of evidence," prosecutors wrote in court documents - could have exonerated him.

Since Rau's ruling, District Attorney Seth Williams has appealed the decision to no avail, first in Superior Court, which in 2014 upheld Rau's decision.

That was followed by an appeal to state Supreme Court. The high court had initially indicated that it would hear the appeal, but last week it said it had changed its mind about reviewing the case. The decision, last Monday, was issued without citing a reason, saying only that the appeal was "improvidently granted."

Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns, who handled the appeal, said it was not unusual for the Supreme Court to offer no explanation for its decision. The case will now return to the Police Department Homicide Unit, he said.

Leonard Sosnov, Medina's lawyer, said his client - who is doing life at Graterford state prison - is "feeling very good."

"This is a case where there is - just from even reading the record from the trial - substantial questions about whether he was guilty or not," Sosnov said. "This was a worthy case to get involved in, and I'm very excited for him."

awhelan@philly.com

267-218-4101@aubreyjwhelan