On October 11, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 17-year-old Michael Jones after they seized a powdery substance from him that field-tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
On October 13, 2009, Jones pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance and was placed on deferred adjudication for three years.
On October 8, 2011, the Houston Police Department crime laboratory tested the powder and found no controlled substances. In 2015, the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit was informed of the negative lab test and informed Jones’s attorney.
The prosecution joined the defense in a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to vacate the conviction. The trial court recommended the writ be granted and in October 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and ordered Jones’ conviction set aside.
On November 9, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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