On March 18, 2013, police in Houston, Texas, arrested 17-year-old Anthony Nguyen after they confiscated a cigar that field-tested positive as marijuana.
On June 6, 2013, Nguyen pled no contest in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to six months of community supervision.
In October 2013, at the request of the prosecution, the supervision was extended for an additional six months. In April 2014, the prosecution filed a motion to revoke Nguyen’s supervision.
At that time, the Harris County District Attorney’s Post Conviction Review Unit was informed by the Houston Police crime laboratory that the cigar had been tested by the lab in August 2013 and was negative for any controlled substances.
On May 7, 2014, the prosecution joined with Nguyen’s defense attorney to request that the conviction be vacated. The motion was granted and the case was dismissed.
– Maurice Possley
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