On March 5, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 33-year-old Jerome Petty after they confiscated a substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On April 1, 2009, Petty pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 90 days in Harris County Jail.
In July 2014, the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit was informed that the Houston police department crime laboratory tested the substance in September 2010 and no controlled substance was found.
In December 2014, the prosecution and Petty’s defense attorney jointly filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to vacate Petty’s conviction. A trial judge recommended the writ be granted and in February 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction.
The prosecution dismissed the charge on March 4, 2016.
– Maurice Possley
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