At 18 years old, Wayne County charged Arkeene and his 16-year-old friend, Cody Clark, with felony murder, robbery, conspiracy, and felony firearm in connection with the June 2015 shooting death of their close friend, Martez Johnson, at a house on Heyden Street around 10:00 PM.

Authorities alleged that Arkeene drove Cody and Martez to meet Andre Thomas with the intent to rob Martez. They claimed that once they arrived, Cody and Martez went inside while Arkeene stayed in the car. Inside the house, Cody allegedly shot Martez in the head when Martez tried to escape.

Arkeene demanded a trial, but after the jury was selected, his attorney passed away. The next attorney pushed him to accept a plea deal. Initially, the offer was for 18 years, then reduced to 14 years. Despite Arkeene repeatedly insisting on going to trial because of his innocence, the attorney continued pressuring him. Eventually, the plea offer was reduced to 8 years, plus an additional 2 years for the gun charge. The attorney warned that if Arkeene did not take the deal, he would face life in prison.

Young, afraid, and unfamiliar with the legal system, Arkeene ultimately accepted the plea deal to avoid the possibility of a life sentence. He now believes that if he had been aware of all the evidence, he would have rejected the plea and insisted on going to trial.

Later, Arkeene’s family hired Professional Investigator Steve Crane from ACS Professional Investigations to conduct a proper investigation into the case. This is what they found.

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