Judge lets confession stand in Detroit cop’s wife’s murder; alleged hit man linked to 8 deaths

Confession stands in murder of Detroit cop’s wife

DETROIT — A judge on Friday refused to throw out a confession by a self-described hit man who is charged with killing the wife of a Detroit police officer, a crucial ruling that clears the way for his first trial in eight fatal shootings.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Craig Strong said nothing was illegal about the tactics used to get a detailed statement from Vincent Smothers. Since summer, Strong watched portions of the videotaped interview and heard testimony from the defendant and police.

“The officer certainly was encouraging him. He gained his confidence. But there’s nothing wrong with that,” the judge said.

Smothers, 28, is charged with shooting Rose Cobb on Dec. 26, 2007. He told police that she was sitting in her van when he broke a window with a tire iron and shot her in the head.

Smothers told police that Cobb’s husband, David Cobb, arranged the killing. The sergeant, who was never charged, hanged himself in September 2008.

Defense lawyer Gabi Silver was not attacking the substance of Smothers’ confession but the process that led to it after his arrest in April 2008. She said it was the result of police promising that his wife would not be charged as an accessory.

“‘You help me out, I’ll help you out,’” Silver quoted investigator Ira Todd as telling Smothers.

“He doesn’t say ‘promise’ but it’s clearly a promise. … Police officers can lie. Police officers can trick defendants. But they cannot make promises to induce a statement,” Silver told the judge. “You can’t cross that line.”

Strong, however, said Smothers “is an intelligent man” who understood his right against self-incrimination and freely waived it.

Silver and Assistant Prosecutor Robert Stevens declined to comment outside court. Trial is set for Nov. 2 but it could be delayed because of legal issues involving a co-defendant.

Smothers was arrested 18 months ago outside his home in Shelby Township, a Detroit suburb. While in custody for hours, he gave an extraordinary series of confessions in eight fatal shootings. All victims except Cobb were involved in drugs.

“I don’t have a profession,” he told police. “I kill people for money.”

Smothers told police he was paid $60,000 over two years. He said he stopped being a hit man after Cobb’s killing.

“My stomach was in knots,” he told police. “I felt like she was innocent. … All the rest were dope dealers.”