On December 16, 2015 police in Houston, Texas arrested 25-year-old Chris Truong after finding a handgun in the glove compartment of his car and four tablets that police believed were alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax.
On April 26, 2016, Truong pled guilty in Harris County criminal district court to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon. While the possession of the gun itself is not illegal in Texas, it is unlawful to possess a gun while committing a crime. In this case, the crime was possession of a controlled substance, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Truong was sentenced to 15 days in the Harris County Jail.
On November 30, 2016, the Houston police crime laboratory tested the four pills and found no controlled substance present.
The Harris County District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit notified Truong’s defense attorney of the negative lab report because the absence of any illegal drug meant that carrying the gun was not a crime.
On March 28, 2017, a defense attorney for Truong, with the support of the prosecution, filed a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus asking that the gun conviction be vacated. On March 30, 2017, the conviction was vacated and the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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