Named defendants in federal lawsuits include the estate of notoriously corrupt Police Captain Roger Golubski, as well as police responsible for fabricating a false eyewitness identification and hiding evidence
(KANSAS CITY, KANSAS) The national civil rights law firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP (NSBHF), and the local firm Morgan Pilate LLP and national firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP today filed wrongful conviction lawsuits on behalf of Domonique Moore, age 41, and Cedric Warren, age 35, who were imprisoned for a combined total of more than 31 years for a 2009 double homicide that they did not commit.
Moore and Warren were released from prison late last year on December 11, 2024. They are not available for interview but have issued the following statements:
Domonique Moore: “No one should have to endure what I went through. I’m so happy for my freedom, but I want justice and accountability for the more than 15 years that the police stole from me when they framed me. I also want to thank everyone who supported and helped me through the nightmare that was my wrongful conviction. I’m grateful to my lawyers, family members, and friends who have helped me along the way.”
Cedric Warren: “I first want to thank God, my mother and my sister for never giving up on me, may they rest in peace. The justice system in Wyandotte County is unjust and unfair in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. I was wrongfully in prison for 16 years until my attorneys proved my innocence and also exposed the lying officers responsible for taking my life. I am extremely grateful and humble, but no amount of money can repay me for the time I’ve lost or replace the people I lost who I’ll never get to see again. I pray that this lawsuit shines light on these injustices. There are so many more voices and victims that are literally dying to be heard.”
Lindsay Runnels, an attorney at Morgan Pilate, added: “The Wyandotte County Unified Government and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department have yet to reckon with the devastating harm caused by Captain Golubski’s misconduct, or the department’s troubled history of framing innocent Black men. Mr. Warren and Mr. Moore paid for the department’s failures with nearly 16 years of their lives. While these men are finally free, justice is incomplete without a full accounting of the department’s misconduct. These lawsuits are an important step toward accountability and justice for Mr. Warren and Mr. Moore, and for all those who continue to wait for this department to address the harm it has caused to the community.”
As the lawsuit describes, Moore and Warren are innocent and had nothing to do with the homicides for which they were convicted. Nonetheless, within hours of the homicides and without any evidence, Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) officers targeted Moore and Warren at the direction of Captain Roger Golubski. Golubski was widely known within the community and the KCKPD for using the power of his badge to manufacture cases against innocent individuals. NSBHF and Morgan Pilate previously sued Golubski on behalf of Lamonte McIntyre, whom Golubski also framed for a double homicide. That case ended in a $12.5 million settlement to McIntyre. In 2022, Golubski was indicted on federal civil-rights violations but died by suicide on December 2, 2024, the morning his criminal trial was scheduled to begin.
Moore and Warren’s wrongful convictions are yet another example of the injustice and devastation caused by Golubski’s shocking and unchecked abuses of power, according to today’s legal complaint. But Golubski did not terrorize the community in a vacuum; the KCKPD sanctioned his misconduct and promoted him to supervisory leadership.
“Mr. Warren and Mr. Moore will never get back the combined 31 years they lost due to the jaw-dropping corruption of a police department that has ruined countless lives,” said Emma Freudenberger, a partner at NSBHF. “Golubski took his own life to avoid facing up to his extensive misdeeds, but the police department that facilitated his corruption can and must be held accountable.”
Moore and Warren’s convictions were vacated last year after a judge found that the police had suppressed important evidence concerning the sole eyewitness’s mental state, including a history of severe psychiatric illnesses and hospitalizations. The court explained that because witness “credibility in front of the jury was everything,” disclosure of the mental health records “no doubt” would have made a difference in the verdict. Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree backed the decision and called the prosecution “a stain on the criminal justice system.”
The complaints in these cases name the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas; the Personal Representative of the Estate of Roger Golubski; and five KCKPD officers. They detail how – in the absence of any actual evidence against the innocent Moore and Warren – KCKPD investigators fabricated and coerced statements from the vulnerable and severely mentally ill sole-surviving eyewitness, pursuing Golubski’s corrupt agenda instead of conducting a real investigation. The KCKPD investigators held the witness in their custody for 20 hours following the homicide, interrogating him until he provided false identifications of Moore and Warren.
“The KCKPD’s misconduct stole critical years from both Mr. Moore and Mr. Warren. It shattered the lives of their family members. This lawsuit is about holding those responsible to account and ensuring that this type of abuse never happens again in this community,” said Bob Hoffman, a partner at Bryan Cave.
Moore and Warren bring claims under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, including their right to be free from prosecution without probable cause and from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law, as well state-law claims.
Attorneys Emma Freudenberger, Nick Brustin, Annie Sloan, and Grace Paras, and paralegal Isis Arevalo of Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP, and attorney Lindsay Runnels and paralegal Maci Morgan of Morgan Pilate LLC are representing Warren. The NSBHF legal team and attorneys Bob Hoffman and Courtney Stout of Bryan Cave LLP represent Moore.
The lawsuits, captioned Moore v. Wyandotte County et al. and Warren v. Wyandotte County et al. are Docket No. 2:25-cv-02626 and Docket No. 2:25-cv-02625, in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. A copy of the Moore complaint is available here and a copy of the Warren complaint is available here.