On August 22, 2008, police in Houston, Texas arrested 29-year-old Latanya Fergeson after they seized a powdered substance from her that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On September 3, 2008, Fergeson pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. She was placed on probation and sent to a residential drug treatment program. In November 2008, a judge ruled that Fergeson had violated the terms of her probation and sentenced Fergeson to seven months in Texas State Jail.
In 2014, the Harris County District Attorney’s Post-Conviction Review Unit was notified that lab tests were conducted on the powder in July 2011 by the Houston Police crime lab and no controlled substance was found.
The prosecution joined with a defense attorney for Fergeson in filing a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. In July 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction.
On August 4, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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