A new court filing is asking a Wyandotte County judge to undo a murder conviction that has kept Donnell Dobbs behind bars for nearly two decades. The motion claims former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski steered investigators toward Dobbs while ignoring evidence pointing elsewhere.
The Midwest Innocence Project filed the 93-page motion Tuesday, July 28, according to KMBC News. Attorney Evan Glasner alleges Golubski manipulated the case and that prosecutors and defense attorneys failed to address constitutional violations, including possible Brady violations and ineffective assistance of counsel.
The case began with a shooting at TJ’s Barbershop in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 3, 2008. Muryel Josenberger was killed and Mario Mitchell was shot 12 times but survived, while Dobbs was later convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
The Kansas Supreme Court’s account of the trial said Mitchell identified Dobbs as the gunman 12 days after the shooting, but also noted that Mitchell initially told police he did not know who had shot him. The court record further stated that no physical evidence placed Dobbs at the scene and that Dobbs received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 25 years.
The Motion Challenges The Case’s Core Evidence
Glasner told KMBC that a separate suspect matched the original description given by a witness but was never properly investigated by Golubski. The filing also argues that the trial evidence was essentially an unreliable eyewitness account, with no DNA, fingerprints or video tying Dobbs to the shooting.
Dobbs’ direct appeal was rejected by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2013, and a later challenge alleging ineffective assistance of counsel was also unsuccessful. The trial jury had convicted Dobbs after hearing testimony from the surviving victim and other witnesses, but the new motion is built around additional allegations about police misconduct and undisclosed information.
The filing follows earlier scrutiny from the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Community Integrity Unit. The Kansas City Star reported in 2022 that members of the unit had concluded Dobbs appeared innocent and believed Golubski had tainted the case, while the DA’s office cautioned that it had made no formal finding outside of court.
Golubski’s Shadow Still Hangs Over Wyandotte County
Golubski died by suicide in 2024 as he faced federal charges involving alleged civil rights abuses and sexual misconduct. In a 2025 interview with KCUR, District Attorney Mark Dupree said his office was reviewing more than 19 cases involving possible improper convictions linked to Golubski.
The latest motion does not itself erase Dobbs’ conviction or release him. A judge must decide whether the new claims justify vacating the verdict, granting a new trial or ordering another remedy, leaving Dobbs’ long-running fight to be resolved in court rather than in the headlines.
