On October 10, 2007, police in Houston, Texas arrested 54-year-old Jerry Dukes after they seized powder from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On October 12, 2007, Dukes pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to eight months in Harris County Jail.
In 2015, the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit learned that the powder had been tested by the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory in February 2010 and no drugs were detected.
The prosecution informed Dukes’ attorney and in February 2015, joined in a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. In July 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition and vacated the conviction. On September 2, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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