On August 21, 2015, police in Houston, Texas arrested 17-year-old Chad Middlebrooks after they confiscated suspected Alprazolam pills from him. Alprazolam is an anti-anxiety medication commonly known as Xanax that requires a prescription. On March 24, 2016, Middlebrooks pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to court supervision.
On August 3, 2016, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the pills and no controlled substance was detected.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office conviction integrity unit was informed of the negative lab test and joined Middlebrooks’s defense attorney in the filing of a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus on October 25, 2016.
On October 31 2016, the writ was granted and the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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