An ex-Philly homicide detective on trial for perjury made a surprise decision and took the witness stand

James Pitts was no stranger to the witness stand during his two decades as a Philadelphia police detective, most recently an investigator assigned to the homicide unit.

But on Friday afternoon, Pitts testified in a new capacity: As a criminal defendant.

The 53-year-old made a surprise decision to take the stand at the close of his trial on charges of perjury and obstruction. Prosecutors have accused him of beating a false confession out of a murder suspect in 2010, then lying about it in court to bolster the case and secure a conviction.

Pitts, however, said that wasn’t true.

During more than an hour on the stand, the former detective repeatedly denied roughing up Obina Onyiah, and said his testimony as Onyiah’s case wound through the courts was accurate.

“I knew at that time that I never touched Mr. Onyiah, and I testified accordingly,” said Pitts, who often spoke quietly, and who has slimmed down considerably from the imposing figure he cut while on the force.

At times, Pitts grew frustrated with questions from Assistant District Attorney Michael Garmisa. He pushed back on some assertions Garmisa made, threw his own questions back at Garmisa, and sometimes took issue with the prosecutor’s tone.

“I’m asking why you’re yelling at me about other things,” Pitts said at one point.

His testimony came on the fourth day of testimony at his trial. And it could prove to be a critical moment in the case, which is already unique as one of the few instances in which a police detective has been put on trial over allegations of official misconduct.

Pitts had for years been the subject of lawsuits, complaints, and allegations of abuse. And at least 10 convictions tied to Pitts’ work as a detective have been overturned, dismissed, or dropped, and a number of petitions are still outstanding.

His testimony came about 24 hours after his accuser, Onyiah, took the stand and described his encounter with Pitts in terms that varied dramatically from those offered by the former detective.

On Thursday, over the course of several tense hours, Onyiah said that as Pitts was questioning him over a fatal robbery at the Glatz jewelry store in Lawndale, the detective yelled at him, threatened him, struck his chest, and later shoved his head down between his legs — all while forcing him to agree to a statement that implicated him in a crime in which he said he had no part.

Onyiah was convicted at his trial in 2013, but prosecutors helped overturn that conviction and secure his release three years ago, after experts they commissioned reviewed surveillance footage of the crime and said the perpetrator was several inches shorter than Onyiah.

Still, Onyiah was clearly upset while testifying this week, staring at Pitts nearly the entire time and frequently pausing for extended periods of time before answering lawyers’ questions.

Pitts “took 11 years of my life away from me for something I didn’t do,” he said at one point.

Onyiah also said he hoped Pitts got convicted — a remark that Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Kyriakakis told jurors to disregard.

And when Onyiah finished testifying, he could be heard yelling in the hallway outside the courtroom in what sounded like something of an emotional release.

Pitts’ attorney, William McLaughlin, argued the outburst — made while the jury was still in the courtroom and within earshot — was prejudicial to Pitts and should be grounds for a mistrial. Kyriakakis denied that motion.

The question of who is telling the truth will soon be put to a jury. Deliberations are expected to begin as soon as Monday.