- 11 Oct 2023 19:08
#15290544
A man was wrongfully arrested, accused of taking part in an assault, as a result of someone five years prior taking a picture with him and posting the picture on the internet site Facebook.
This story illustrates how people can be wrongfully arrested.
San Marcos police's botched investigation led to a man's wrongful arrest | KVUE , KVUE
The man's name was Austin Colson.
He was arrested on October 4, 2021 (in Willis, Texas, where he lived). As he entered an intersection, a sheriff's deputy stopped him for failing to make a complete stop. The deputy ran his name in the computer database, which is common procedure. A second deputy arrived on the scene. He was informed there was a warrant for his arrest for "assault with bodily injury", and that the warrant came from Hays County. Colson did not even know where Hays County was.
A man in San Marcos was the victim of an assault by multiple men, which took place in June 2021 outside a bar. That man was able to identify one of the assailants, and police later arrested and charged that man with assault. He happened to be from Colson's home town. Colson said he had not seen that guy in five years. The assault victim, in an attempt to try to identify the other attackers in the group, had looked through that man's Facebook page, and saw a picture of Colson. The victim (mistakenly) thought that Colson looked like one of the other men in the group who had attacked him. The victim informed San Marcos police, who were able to figure out that the man in the picture was Austin Colson.
To be able to obtain the arrest warrant, the lead police investigator claimed that Colson was a student at Texas State University. This would have placed Colson near the crime. But in reality, Colson was a student at Sam Houston State, 170 miles away. The police investigator either made an error, or more likely lied about that fact to be able to get the warrant.
Colson spent 16 hours in jail. This was after a long day of classes, and after finally getting off his night job as a pizza delivery driver. He was arrested at around 10:30 in the evening.
After he was released, the police did not even inform him of the circumstances that had led to his arrest. He was only able to find that out months later, after more than a dozen phone calls and the help of a lawyer.
San Marcos police's botched investigation led to a man's wrongful arrest, Tony Plohetski, KVUE News (ABC), September 8, 2023
"The arrest of Austin Colson stemmed from a case of mistaken identity"
This story illustrates how people can be wrongfully arrested.
San Marcos police's botched investigation led to a man's wrongful arrest | KVUE , KVUE
The man's name was Austin Colson.
He was arrested on October 4, 2021 (in Willis, Texas, where he lived). As he entered an intersection, a sheriff's deputy stopped him for failing to make a complete stop. The deputy ran his name in the computer database, which is common procedure. A second deputy arrived on the scene. He was informed there was a warrant for his arrest for "assault with bodily injury", and that the warrant came from Hays County. Colson did not even know where Hays County was.
A man in San Marcos was the victim of an assault by multiple men, which took place in June 2021 outside a bar. That man was able to identify one of the assailants, and police later arrested and charged that man with assault. He happened to be from Colson's home town. Colson said he had not seen that guy in five years. The assault victim, in an attempt to try to identify the other attackers in the group, had looked through that man's Facebook page, and saw a picture of Colson. The victim (mistakenly) thought that Colson looked like one of the other men in the group who had attacked him. The victim informed San Marcos police, who were able to figure out that the man in the picture was Austin Colson.
To be able to obtain the arrest warrant, the lead police investigator claimed that Colson was a student at Texas State University. This would have placed Colson near the crime. But in reality, Colson was a student at Sam Houston State, 170 miles away. The police investigator either made an error, or more likely lied about that fact to be able to get the warrant.
Colson spent 16 hours in jail. This was after a long day of classes, and after finally getting off his night job as a pizza delivery driver. He was arrested at around 10:30 in the evening.
After he was released, the police did not even inform him of the circumstances that had led to his arrest. He was only able to find that out months later, after more than a dozen phone calls and the help of a lawyer.
San Marcos police's botched investigation led to a man's wrongful arrest, Tony Plohetski, KVUE News (ABC), September 8, 2023
"The arrest of Austin Colson stemmed from a case of mistaken identity"
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