Kevin Nunes: Men cleared of footballer's murder sue Staffordshire Police after botched probe
Two of the men jailed for killing amateur footballer Kevin Nunes are suing Staffordshire Police – four years after their convictions were quashed over the execution-style murder.
Levi Walker and Antonio Christie have started civil legal proceedings against the force in the High Court, the Express & Star has learnt.
The pair were both sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 alongside Adam Joof, of Willenhall, and Owen Crooks and Michael Osbourne, both of Wolverhampton, for the gangland slaying with combined minimum prison terms totalling 135 years.
But during 2012 their convictions were quashed after a series of blunders by detectives were brought to light sparking a five-year investigation by the police watchdog.
Walker was separately jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years for the 2006 murder of Smethwick solider Trooper Narel Sharpe.
The Court of Appeal was told how detectives on the case drank alcohol with the prosecution's star witness Simeon Taylor, covered up alleged wrongdoing, and how one of Taylor's handlers had an affair with a female colleague which could have led to evidence being contaminated.
Mr Nunes was 'pistol whipped' and shot five times in Clive Road, Pattingham, in 2002. The 20-year-old, from Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, was a promising amateur footballer who was on the books of Tottenham Hotspur and later Stafford Rangers.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated 14 Staffordshire Police officers connected to the case between 2011 and this year but in March it was decided none – including current Staffordshire Chief Constable Jane Sawyers – would face any disciplinary action despite the watchdog's investigator's report recommending they face counts of misconduct.
The report is yet to be made public.
A High Court hearing will be held later this year to determine how the civil claim will proceed.
Staffordshire Police spokeswoman Emma Byford said: "Staffordshire Police can confirm that a claim has been made. Due to ongoing proceedings we are unable to comment further."
Legal representatives of Christie, from Great Bridge, and Walker, formerly of Birmingham, were contacted for comment but did not reply to approaches by the Express & Star.
