Houston police arrested 38-year-old Kendrick Mable on March 15, 2014 and charged him with drug possession after a field test on a substance confiscated from him was positive for phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP.
Mable, who had prior felony convictions for vehicle theft, pled guilty on March 19, 2014 to drug possession and was sentenced to two years in prison.
In April 2014, the Houston police crime laboratory tested the substance seized from Mable and no illegal drugs were found. The Harris County District Attorney’s Post Conviction Review Unit notified Mable’s defense attorney and a joint petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed on May 1, 2014. At the same time, Mable was released on bond.
A Harris County District Court judge recommended that the writ be granted on the ground of actual innocence. In September 2014, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated Mable’s conviction. On October 13, 2014, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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