Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

Frank Pines

Other Harris County Drug Cases
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/PublishingImages/Harris_County.png
On November 14, 2006, police in Houston, Texas arrested 26-year-old Frank Pines after they seized a substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.

On November 16, 2006, Pines pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance in Harris County Criminal District Court. He was sentenced to 120 days in the Harris County Jail.

On November 9, 2010, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the suspected cocaine and no controlled substance was detected.

In 2014, the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit discovered that the laboratory tests in Pines’ case, as well as hundreds of others, were negative for the presence of illegal substances. In August 2014, it notified Pines of the negative laboratory test result in his case.

In March 2016, a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed on behalf of Pines. The prosecution joined the petition and in August 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated Pines’ conviction.
On September 29, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charge.

– Maurice Possley

Report an error or add more information about this case.

Posting Date: 10/4/2016
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2006
Convicted:2006
Exonerated:2016
Sentence:120 days
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:26
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No