After 21 months in jail, a Philadelphia man is released on the eve of his trial.
Although 21-year-old Ralph Lowe said he did not fatally shoot 44-year-old Kevin Coles in North Philadelphia, the Philadelphia district attorney charged him with murder. Lowe was charged and sent to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on the basis of a brawl he and a group of teenagers had with Coles two hours prior to the shooting.
Twenty-one months later, Lowe is a free and innocent man. He was released from prison on the eve of his murder trial. But assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron said Lowe was released because “two of our witnesses went south” and the charges can be reinstated at any time. However, criminal defense attorneys Ronald Greenblatt and Meg Flores of Greenblatt, Pierce, Engle, Funt & Flores, the Philadelphia law firm representing Lowe, say testimony from alibi witnesses given to the district attorney’s office months ago prove Lowe’s innocence. Greenblatt, who said his firm spent, literally hundreds of hours” on the case to prove their client’s innocence.
The case received enormous publicity and Lowe’s conviction was seen as a formality. “Once again, there was a rush to judgment in this case”, said Greenblatt. “once you fairly listened to the evidence, the case against Ralph just didn’t add up. Both Ms. Flores and I are thrilled for Mr. Lowe and his family. They are tremendously decent people who had to endure an unfair hardship in having to show Ralph’s innocence.”
Media reports portrayed Coles as a neighborhood crusader against drug dealers. However, further investigation by police and Greenblatt, Pierce, Engle, Funt & Flores, revealed that Coles may have had a gun on him and initiated the confrontation.
Following Lowe’s release, Frank “Stine” Pralour was charged with murdering Coles. He was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Greenblatt, Pierce, Engle, Funt & Flores LLC specializes in the areas of criminal law, traffic law violations, civil law, corporate law, family law and employment law. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, the multi-disciplinary, full service law firm represents individuals, families and businesses with cost-effective counseling and litigation, including homicide and assault, traffic offenses, DUI/DWI, juvenile law, domestic relations, divorce, custody, employment and employee benefits issues, civil rights, domestic abuse, federal criminal defense, white collar crimes, sex crimes and cyberspace crimes. Greenblatt, Pierce, Engle, Funt & Flores LLC has law offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Haddonfield, New Jersey. For more information on Attorneys Ronald Greenblatt and Meg Flores, please access their profiles.
