On December 27, 2014, police in Houston, Texas arrested 42-year-old Roumaldo Lerma after they confiscated a plastic baggie containing a substance that field-tested positive as marijuana.
On December 29, 2014, Lerma pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 21 days in the Harris County Jail.
On January 14, 2015, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the substance and determined there was no controlled substance. Instead the material was synthetic cannabinoid known as Chminaca and commonly referred to as “spice.”
The lab notified the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit which then informed Lerma’s defense attorney. The prosecution joined with the defense in a motion to vacate the conviction.
On January 22, the motion was granted and the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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