On January 25, 2011, 25-year-old Alexander Hebrard was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in Harris County, Texas. The charge was based on a records search that showed Hebrard had been convicted in Oregon in 2009 on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and illegal possession of a firearm.
Hebrard pleaded guilty on January 27, 2011 and was sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2013, Hebrard filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus claiming that the Oregon conviction had been reversed in 2010 because of an illegal police search. The petition alleged that Hebrard had received inadequate legal defense because the Oregon case had been dismissed on December 30, 2010 and therefore he was not a convicted felon at the time he was arrested in Harris County. The petition was supported by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
On July 24, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and the case was dismissed. Hebrard had already served his sentence by the time the writ was granted and remained in custody on another charge.
– Maurice Possley |