Man previously exonerated from murder conviction now a suspect in fatal shooting. DA responsible for his release says 'new arrest warrant' has 'no bearing on the overturning' of prior conviction

A man who was previously convicted of murder, and then exonerated only one year ago, is now wanted by police in connection with a recent fatal shooting.

The Philadelphia Police Department is currently searching for Jahmir Harris, 33, who was believed to be involved in a shooting that occurred last month. Authorities are offering a substantial $20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Around 2 a.m. on September 5, 50-year-old Charles Gossett was shot dead by a bullet that struck him in the back of the head. Security footage at the crime scene allegedly captured two gunmen exiting Harris' vehicle.

Harris was previously convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Louis Porter, 45. On December 23, 2012, Porter was shot in his vehicle in a Walgreens parking lot. More than a dozen shots were fired into the victim's car, according to WTXF-TV. Porter's child was in the back seat but was not harmed during the shooting.

Eight years into his prison sentence, Harris' lawyers requested that Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner reexamine the case.

Krasner found that Harris' "constitutional rights had been violated at the time of his prosecution because information implicating another individual as the likely shooter had not been turned over to the defense council."

The reexamination of the case concluded that Harris was not the gunman who murdered Porter.

According to the Michigan State University College of Law, the objection from the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit stated, "Harris did not participate in the shooting death of Porter. In fact, shortly after Porter was shot, law enforcement had strong evidence implicating A.J. as the lone shooter."

Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi was highly critical of the CIU's findings.

"This court wonders how the commonwealth felt confident in releasing a murder suspect from prison when the commonwealth said one page earlier that the criminal investigation in this matter was still ongoing," said Judge DeFino-Nastasi during the hearing in 2021.

Harris' sentence was ultimately vacated, and he was released from prison that same year.

In a statement to WTXF-TV on Wednesday, Krasner defended his decision to exonerate Harris.

"Wrongful convictions warrant correction by the criminal justice system because they undermine confidence in the system, and because the actual persons responsible for serious and violent crime are not held accountable," said Krasner. "The facts alleged in the new arrest warrant for Harris have no bearing on the overturning of Harris' 2012 conviction."