A Cuyahoga County man serving 40 years to life for a 2017 murder is asking for a new trial after a key witness came forward alleging she had a sexual relationship with a detective working the case who pressured her to provide false testimony.
The detective is now East Cleveland’s acting chief of police and the misconduct allegations against him could force the reversal of the 2019 murder conviction of Jerry Sims in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Sims was convicted of murdering Jamarr Forkland and burning his body.
The allegations against Police Chief Kenneth Lundy include an inappropriate relationship with the state’s lead witness in the case; years of alleged harassment and intimidation of that witness following the conclusion of the trial; and a history of misconduct at previous employers prior to taking a job with the East Cleveland Police Department that was not fully disclosed at trial.
“It has become clear that the state’s key witness was subjected to sexually exploitative and physically abusive conduct by the lead detective for the state during the homicide investigation and trial proceedings,” Sims’ attorney Kim Kendall Corral, wrote in the petition for a new trial, filed January 7. “That witness was induced to offer knowingly false testimony as the result of fear-based intimidation, undisclosed benefits offered by the detective, sexual exploitation and other misconduct.”
Lundy acknowledged the relationship in an interview with Ideastream Public Media but denies he pressured the witness to lie and harassed and intimidated her.
“Not once did I ever have her lie or lock someone up who didn’t do something,” he said.
Lundy is the latest person to lead East Cleveland’s scandal-ridden police department to face misconduct allegations.
East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King named Lundy acting police chief last year after Chief Brian Gerhard left the department following the release of antisemitic and racist text messages on his phone. Gerhard replaced Scott Gardner, who also left the department last year, after a conviction for tax evasion. Between August of 2022 and March of 2023, 16 East Cleveland officers were indicted on charges including felonious assault, interference with civil rights, tampering with evidence and dereliction of duty.
What are the allegations?
In 2019, Sims’ girlfriend at the time of the murder, identified as Jane Doe in court records, testified at his trial that she saw him commit the murder two years earlier at a used car lot on Superior Avenue near East 115th Street.
She now says that was a lie and that between her first statement to police, when she told them she hadn’t seen the murder or gone to buy the gas used to burn Forkland’s body, and her third interview, when she changed her story, Lundy and Jane Doe began a sexual relationship, according to a signed affidavit referenced in the filing.
“Jane Doe reports that after their relationship became sexual, Lundy began to pressure her regarding her statement,” according to the court filing.
Lundy denies that he pressured Doe to change her statement but acknowledged in an interview with Ideastream Public Media that a sexual relationship began before trial because of frequent calls from Doe and requests to protect her from Sims.
“It was never intended to alter her testimony,” Lundy said. “I was there for her emotionally. It probably wasn’t the most professional thing for me to do, but, again, she called me every day for protection. We grew very close.”
Lundy said he believes Doe is coming forward now and recanting her testimony because of jealousy over his September engagement.
“I ran into her a couple months ago, she knows some of the same people I know,” said Lundy. “I am sure she knew I got engaged. When she saw me, she just stared at me — didn’t say anything. She had always said, ‘You better not marry anybody else.’”
Doe’s attorney, Allison Hibbard, said Doe came forward about Lundy and the Sims case months before he was engaged.
“It had nothing to do with his engagement,” said Hibbard. “Jane Doe came forward with this because she feels concerned that he is responsible for the safety of the citizens of East Cleveland.”
Sims’ attorney also submitted several police reports from Mayfield Heights Police beginning in 2021 and spanning through 2023 detailing repeated calls to police from Doe about arguments with Lundy that allegedly turned violent; an unwanted visit from Lundy, his sister and his friend; and Lundy driving to her apartment complex in an undercover East Cleveland police vehicle 13 times between Sept. 19, 2023 and Oct. 7, 2023 apparently without Doe’s knowledge.
One of those visits, on Oct. 7, 2023, coincided with one of two instances of Doe’s car being vandalized. Initially, Doe told the officer she could not think of anyone who could be responsible for the damage, according to the report. But, eight days later, she called Mayfield Heights to check the license plate of Lundy’s unmarked police vehicle.
“I asked [the witness] why she would suspect Lundy being responsible for either one or both incidents with her car. [She] told me that even though they are not together, Lundy suspects her of having relations with other men and it upsets him,” the officer wrote in the report.
Lundy said he was not aware of the reports, though Mayfield Heights Police contacted him and told him to stay away from her apartment complex, according to the police report.
Lundy has not been charged with a crime in Mayfield Heights, court records show.
He said the visits to her apartment were innocent.
“She was telling me she was home when she wasn’t home and, at some point, somebody vandalized her car. I explained to her I would never do that,” Lundy said in an interview. "I’ve done nothing but tried to help her over the years to make sure her mental state was OK.”
What does this mean for Sims’s criminal case?
Sims is seeking to have his conviction overturned and for an appeals court to order a new trial.
His attorney is arguing the failure to disclose Lundy’s relationship with Doe is a violation of Brady v. Maryland, a U.S. Supreme Court case that requires prosecutors to turn over evidence favorable to the defense before trial, court documents show.
Under Supreme Court precedent, defense attorneys are also entitled to information about witnesses that could undermine the credibility of their testimony.
In addition to Lundy’s relationship with Jane Doe, Sims’ attorney also claims she uncovered details of discipline at several of Lundy’s previous employers that were not fully disclosed during his trial, including the use of excessive force while serving as an officer at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility; lying on his application with the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department; and failing a lie detector test administered by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Department following an allegation that he and another deputy exchanged food for sexual favors from a detainee.
Lundy downplayed the allegations regarding his former employment and said they were minor infractions.
“The allegations set forth in this petition are shocking but our office was thorough in verifying the truth of these claims,” said Kendall Corral, Sims' attorney. “My client has spent nine years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and this witness has suffered immeasurable harm.”
