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Leon McDonald

Other Harris County Drug Cases
On October 21, 2007, police in Houston, Texas arrested 39-year-old Leon McDonald after confiscating a substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.

On October 22, 2007, McDonald pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to felony possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to nine months in the Harris County Jail.

On November 4, 2009, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the substance and concluded that no controlled substances were present.

In 2016, the Harris County District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit joined with Johnson’s attorney in filing a state-court petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to vacate the conviction. A state trial judge recommended that the petition be granted and in June 2016 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction.

On July 14, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charge.

– Maurice Possley

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Posting Date: 7/15/2016
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2007
Convicted:2007
Exonerated:2016
Sentence:9 months
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:39
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No