A Dallas police affidavit claims that officials found marijuana in Botham Jean’s apartment where an off-duty police officer shot him to death on Sept. 6, 2018 after saying she entered his apartment by mistake, thinking it was her own and that he was a burglar.
The police allegedly recovered 10 grams of weed in Jean’s apartment on Thursday Sept. 13, 2018, the very day his family buried the 26-year-old businessman who worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas and had a reputation for volunteerism and charity work.
Lee Merritt, lawyer for Jean’s family, said the search is an attempt by the police to discredit Botham.
The search “highlights just sort of the nefarious nature of their investigation. They went in with the intent to look for some sort of criminal justification for the victim,” Merritt said.
“It’s a pattern that we’ve seen before … we have a cop who clearly did something wrong. And instead of investigating the homicide — instead of going into her apartment and seeing what they can find, instead of collecting evidence relevant for the homicide investigation — they went out specifically looking for ways to tarnish the image of this young man,” continued Merritt.
This turn of events, already shocking, has sparked outrage as many express similar opinions to Jean’s attorney.
Writer and social activist, Shaun King tweeted: “They began their investigation into HIS MURDER by searching through HIS belongings.”
Merritt, who said he does not trust Dallas police’s planned inquiry, scheduled a news conference on Friday to “denounce the lack of genuine transparency in the investigation,” according to a statement.
Merritt noted that the police officer’s home has not yet been searched.
“It’s clear to me and the family that investigators are not interested in doing an objective job,” Merritt said.
