On March 24, 2013, Harris County, Texas Sheriff’s deputies arrested 27-year-old Christopher Rojo of Channelview, Texas, after they confiscated from him what they believed was marijuana.
On March 25, 2013, Rojo pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to two days in the Harris County Jail.
On April 3, 2013, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences performed a laboratory test on the confiscated material and no controlled substance was present.
The laboratory report was sent to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, but, along with hundreds of other similar negative reports, was overlooked until years later.
Eventually, the District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit began notifying defendants of the lab results. In 2016, Rojo’s defense attorney was informed of the negative test results. On August 3, 2016, the prosecution and defense jointly filed a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction.
On August 5, 2016, Rojo’s conviction was vacated and the charge was dismissed.
– Maurice Possley
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