Melvin Davis’ first 10 days in Hawaii were a crash course in severe weather.
There were hurricane threats; temperatures — and humidity — in the 90s, and brown-water conditions from heavy downpour that made the surf off Waikiki unusable.
But to Davis, a new running back for the University of Hawaii football team, the island "is a blessing."
He said he loves the team, the residents, the second chance.
This is paradise for a man who has experienced a personal hell.
"I have a chance to do good things with my life," said Davis, who was jailed for nearly two years awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit on an accusation by a woman who was not mentally fit. "I have a chance to focus on what’s important — going to school, playing football and graduating."
In his past, there had been a future. He sidestepped the wrong turns on Compton’s streets to earn a football scholarship from Washington in 2010. But a couple of months away from leaving for Seattle, Davis and three high school teammates headed to what they thought was a graduation party in Long Beach. Instead, it was a house party. After some debate, they decided to stay.
Forty-five minutes later, they heard a loud confrontation. A fight that started in the backyard, moved to the side of the house, and then to the front. Davis and the other guests heard gun shots. "That’s when we left," Davis said.
A month later, police officers showed up at his house, rousing him from his sleep at 5 a.m. He was led to the curb, handcuffed, placed in a patrol car, and then moved into a detective’s car. At the police station’s interrogation room, he was shown a picture of the victim, whom he did not know. A second picture was of the alleged shooter, whom Davis knew when they were both in the ninth grade. The alleged shooter was expelled at the end of that year, and they had not had contact since.
Davis was told the alleged shooter tried to use him as an alibi. A woman said Davis and the shooter arrived and left the party at the same time. Davis said he was not with the shooter, had nothing to do with the incident, and had other witnesses to prove it. Still, Davis was charged with being an accessory to murder, a felony that carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
"It made no sense at all," Davis said.
Davis’ petition to be released on his own recognizance was rejected. Bail was set at $1 million.
His mother, who owned a security business, paid $20,000 to a lawyer. Each bail hearing led to another rejection and another three-month wait for another hearing.
"He was selling me dreams," Davis said of the lawyer. "He’d say, ‘I’m going to get you out this week.’ Everything he told me had no substance. He was basically telling me lies just to make me feel better."
His mother fired the lawyer after a year, then hired Bob Bernstein as attorney. Pauline Hambrick, Davis’ grandmother, used her life’s savings — $35,000 — to pay Bernstein’s fees. Bernstein told Davis to be patient while a private detective launched an investigation.
Alex Rodriguez, a cellmate, told Davis to enroll in the jail’s academic program. He also told David not to focus on activities outside the walls. "If you constantly focus on the outside," Rodriguez told Davis, "you’re going to stress yourself."
The private detective acquired cell-phone-location records that showed Davis did not arrive or leave at the same time as the alleged shooter. The female accuser’s mother signed an affidavit that her daughter suffered from a condition that made her testimony unreliable.
At the urging of the judge, the prosecutor offered this deal to Davis: Plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice (not providing full details of what he witnessed that night) in exchange for time served and immediate release from custody. Davis wanted to clear his name. "By then, I was in there for 22 months," Davis said. "There are multiple stories about innocent people being found guilty."
He accepted the deal.
"By the grace of God, I was released," said Davis, whose record has been cleared.
As he left the building, a free man for the first time in nearly two years, he recalled thinking: "It was a blessing. It was super fresh air. I actually cried."
Davis played two years at Santa Monica College. UH running backs coach Wayne Moses knew of Davis’ situation. Moses was willing to put his reputation on the line to recommend Davis to head coach Norm Chow, who went through an extensive vetting process before offering a scholarship. UH athletic director David Matlin also gave his approval.
"I’m appreciative of Coach Chow and Coach Moses and the University of Hawaii for giving me a second chance at life," Davis said. "I told Coach Chow I’m going to make the best of it. He doesn’t have to worry about me."
It was hot and humid during Wednesday’s practice. Davis did not seem to mind at all.
